At the conclusion of what he said were “very constructive” meetings with government officials during his visit here last week, Britain’s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Spencer Mahoney struck an upbeat note on the UK’s perspective on the prospects for enhanced trade relations between the two countries. “The message was clear, Guyana is open for business. We want to make it easy for your companies to come and participate; we want it to be business to business and that is really good. In some parts of the world that is not the message from governments and there is, sometimes, inherent skepticism about what business can bring; but it feels that your government recognises that business brings unique skills, expertise, and value, that a country like Guyana needs to harness for its benefit. Guyana is open to this and I think that is really good,” Mahoney told the Stabroek Business in an exclusive interview at the conclusion of his assignment here.
During his visit the senior British trade official met with Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, and Education Minister Priya Manickchand.
Mahoney told the Stabroek Business that his meeting with the Prime Minister focussed on a number of issues including increasing the interest of the United Kingdom in Guyana as it relates to trade and investment, the removal of barriers to trade between the two countries, opportunities within the agriculture and energy sectors, telecommunications, education, security, trade missions, and joint ventures.
Mahoney said that his meeting with Edghill addressed various major infrastructural projects including a number of road works and bridges, the marine sector, transportation, and management. That meeting also dealt with the fostering and establishing of avenues for collaboration with businesses in the United Kingdom. The meeting with Manickchand explored possible opportunities for collaboration and partnership in the development of the country’s education system.
The overall purpose of the visit was to facilitate discussions on UK/Guyana bilateral trade relations and to explore opportunities for UK investments here. During the interview Mahoney disclosed that in furtherance of the pursuit of forging stronger trade ties between Guyana and the United Kingdom, Britain plans to dispatch a Trade Mission to Georgetown, possibly in February next year.
“We are looking to bring some UK companies to Guyana early next year. However, we are still looking at the dates. We are hoping to have this done in the first quarter of next year.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic still needing to be factored into planning considerations for the proposed visit here by the British trade delegation, Guyanese Sherwyn Naughton, the UK’s Country Director for Trade and Investment at the British High Commission in Georgetown who joined Mahoney for the exchange with the Stabroek Business, confirmed that the planned visit by the British Trade Mission is scheduled “for the first quarter” of next year though the actual dates were still to be decided upon.
Mahoney told this newspaper that his visit to Guyana was reflective of Britain’s broader interest in further strengthening ties with the region as a whole. “There is a perception that the Caribbean is for tourism. People do not think about it [the Caribbean] for business… my role and the role of my team is to sell the region… Guyana, it is one of the fastest growing places on the planet,” Mahoney said.
According to the UK trade official, among the issues that arose during his engagements here was the possible application in Guyana of technologies in the agricultural sector “that could help improve crop yields and will require fewer natural resources.” He said that exchanges also centred on renewable energy as well as the likelihood that some British security companies and cyber companies may have an interest in the Guyana market. Discussions also dealt with medical supplies to Guyana from the UK. Financial services “could also be an area of opportunity in the longer term,” Mahoney told the Stabroek Business.
