Expressing exasperation, President Irfaan Ali yesterday urged that the European Union (EU) put arrangements in place in three months for Guyanese to be able to access Schengen visas here for travel to Europe rather than having to go to neighbouring Suriname.
Speaking at the launch of the EU/Guyana Chamber of Commerce at the Bel Air Springs residence of the EU Ambassador, the President pointed to the urgency for the ease of travel between Guyana and Schengen countries.
“It is not a luxury for the EU anymore to take their time and grant us that facility. I think that the EU must understand that it is in their strategic interest to have that facility here in Guyana, within the next three months. And we have to find where we can get it done within the next three months; which embassy is in a position to get it done in the next three months, what you want us to do to help you to get it done in the next three months and get it done,” Ali said.
“It’s nonsense. Absolutely ridiculous! And in this modern world in which Guyana is strategically positioned, you have all the sophisticated investors coming in to Guyana to invest, we can’t continue like this,” he declared.
Outgoing Head of Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, Dr Fernando Ponz Cantó said in response that the EU is actively exploring the possibility of scheduled visits from consular officers from the Dutch Embassy in Suriname as a solution.
“We have already started work on that, on the different possibilities. The problem that we have is that this is not a responsibility of the European member institutions. This is a responsibility for the European Union member states. In other words, the delegation of the European Union cannot; does not have the mandate to deliver any visas. We don’t have it,” the Ambassador told reporters following Ali’s public call.
“It is still in the competency of the member states and in this case it was decided that the Netherlands would be the member state that would give visas to the Guyanese,” he explained. Guyanese currently have to travel to a processing centre in Paramaribo to apply and the applications are then forwarded to the Netherlands embassy there.
Schengen countries are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
It was private sector executive and Chairman of the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) Manniram Prashad who first raised the issue at the launch yesterday.
Prashad who heaped praise on Ponz Cantó for his contribution in making the EU/ Guyana Chamber of Commerce possible, said that for Guyanese to have to give up three days in travel to Suriname to obtain the visa was not only time-consuming but a strain on finances.
The EU Ambassador said that while he will soon be leaving Guyana as his tenure here is up, he will still do all within his powers to relay to the EU the concerns of Guyanese in this area.
“Now I understand that it is frustrating to have to go to Paramaribo to get the visas. We are working hard to try to find a solution. Guyanese should not see this as a disability but we are trying to facilitate change of the system. Who knows, perhaps of course, without any commitment, one possibility could be that some officials could come periodically here and deliver the visas. We are exploring that possibility. We do not know whether it will work. It is true also that the system in place is unusual and I understand for the citizens it is complicated,” he said.
But he reminded that persons travelling to other jurisdictions for visas is nothing new.
“In many other countries they have this system. For example, the US delivers the visas to the Cubans here in Guyana. And even Guyana delivers visas for some EU member states in another state, I believe. It is a complicated thing but an important one,” he added, while stressing that a bigger initiative would be removing the need for visas altogether
Ponz Cantó said that he hoped that “visa liberalization” would be created sometime in the future but emphasized that whatever decisions are made would have to be from the European Union, even as he pledged his commitment to help find a solution.
“I want to make it very clear it is not something with which I can commit myself because it is not in my mandate [to decide]. What we are doing already is to try to explore those possibilities that we have those visa [consulate officers] come here from time to time and deliver the visas and Guyanese can do it when they come. It is a hypothesis. Another hypothetical would be to move the office from Paramaribo to here but that is difficult because there are many financial implications which are not within our control. In the long term what I would like is to get to an agreement for lifting the visa requirements,” he said.
