Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will soon experiment with the setting up of a ferry service between the two countries to transport people and cargo.
The announcement was made yesterday by President Irfaan Ali during a press conference hosted at State House with Trinidad’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed for co-operation in a number of areas.
“…As we speak to you now we are already exploring the possibility of having a cargo plus ferry facility as an experiment between Guyana and Trinidad moving people and goods and services… We cannot address any issues unless we create a platform, the vehicle that will allow us to do that and this MoU does that,” President Ali said during opening remarks on the memorandum between the two countries.
Ali stated that the experiment by both governments signals the seriousness and commitment to move in the direction of achieving the goals on the CARICOM agenda including slashing the food import bill of the region by 25% by 2025.
In the afterglow of a major agricultural conference hosted here last week, Ali added that in the coming months citizens of both countries will hear “strong announcements on transport and logistics” that will move the agendas of both countries.
According to President Ali in order for the goals to be realized there must be partnerships not just from governments but also the private sectors in both countries.
He stated that the private sector plays a major role in advancing the realization of the governments’ agendas and over the past five days they have worked to lift “heavy issues” during deliberations to pave the way for the local value and supply chain to benefit from connections between the two countries.
“What we have concluded … is a joint commitment on how we want to secure the futures of the people of these two countries by working together in a partnership, looking at joint opportunities, looking at low-hanging fruits, and developing the long-term pathway through which we will enjoy success for Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the people of both countries”, the Guyanese Head of State added.
In response to a question from Stabroek News, Prime Minister Rowley stated that his government is prepared to make interventions for new business models to thrive and to find solutions to non-tariff barriers.
Ali said that over the past few days during discussions with Rowley, the government advanced their conversation on how to address issues such as pre-clearance and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements to ensure bureaucracy does not exist along trade lines. He added that even issues such as de-barking of timber for export to the twin island republic, which was not on the agenda were discussed.
“…we were talking about de-barking lumber, de-barking lumber is required for lumber coming out of Guyana and exported to Trinidad and Prime Minister Rowley made a point that if we do all the necessary spraying and treatment and so, then we have to examine why this is still an issue. So yes, not only are we committing to removing any impediments … all the issues we highlighted in the MoU but we have already gone a step further we are outlying the mechanisms…” the President stated.
Additionally, Ali said discussions on trade barriers were not only based on Guyana’s challenges but those of the entire CARICOM region.
“There is a special focus in CARICOM not only to Guyana and Trinidad on all barriers to trade and impediments…We have not only drawn up a list between Guyana and Trinidad but we have drawn up a comprehensive document for the entire region itemising every issue, every product, saying where we are on those issues and the action required by member states,” he explained, noting that they are going to propose a new formula to address the issues rather than utilizing the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) mechanism.
He stated that the during their discussions at the recently concluded Agri-Investment Forum and Expo they made a decision to pitch a new proposal aimed at addressing trade barriers.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) last week warned the government here against signing a MoU on a number of areas with Trinidad and Tobago until Port of Spain removes Non-Tariff Barriers on Guyanese goods.
GGCI yesterday however welcomed the signing of the MoU. In a statement GCCI said the commitment by the two countries to remove trade barriers is a step in the right direction.
“The Chamber would like to encourage its private sector colleagues in Trinidad & Tobago to support its Government in the work to remove trade barriers,” the GCCI said.
