Come January, for the second time in three months, a private sector delegation from Jamaica will visit Guyana, a development that sends a definitive message that the CARICOM territory known for the strides that it has made as a standout country in the global tourism industry, is now seriously interested in strengthening business ties with Guyana.
When, in October last year, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), Senator Aubyn Hill had arrived in Guyana at the head of a modest Jamaica private sector delegation, he had at the time, shared with the Stabroek Business, information regarding the likelihood of a further, larger business delegation paying another visit in January.
Late last week it was announced in Kingston that the Jamaican private sector will indeed be going ahead with a visit by a follow up mission the size of which is expected to surpass the twenty companies that formed part of a team that came here last October to scout out business opportunities.
Both the Government of Guyana and the local private sector have indicated that they are open to making room for investment opportunities that are emerging here on the back of a growth trajectory based on the emergence of the country’s oil and gas sector.
Little has been disclosed either here in Guyana or in Jamaica about all of the areas of likely investment interest that will be discussed during the visit, though the Jamaicans are believed to have a particular interest in what they see as opportunities in the construction sector in Guyana, particularly given the likely focus here on the construction of several new hotels as part of an upgraded tourism and hospitality sector.
The mission of the January Jamaican trade and investment mission is likely to take its cue from some of the discourses that took place during the October 2022 visit. Those talks embraced possible collaboration in areas that include agribusiness, financial services, infrastructure, manufacturing, and professional services. A statement emerging from the 2022 visit also alluded to the likelihood that the mission would “cement business-to-business partnerships that will drive cross-border transactions in both investments and trade, of mutual benefit to Jamaica and Guyana.”
One of the hoped-for outcomes of closer business-to-business ties and other forms of closer economic cooperation between the two countries that arose during the October visit here is the possibility that Guyana may be able to share the accreditation services which Jamaica currently enjoys with the United States through its certification from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) and which could be a stepping stone for local products enjoying the ‘cover’ of that certification to expand its US markets under the ‘cover’ of Jamaican endorsement.
Some local products, including rice already enjoy ‘cover’ provided by the Jamaican accreditation authorities and a deepened partnership could enable the process to be extended to embrace other Guyanese exports to the USA.
During last October’s Jamaica private sector visit here, the President of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) Dianne Edwards, had also raised the possibility of Guyanese exports benefitting from collaborating with Jamaica given the latter’s advantageous positioning on international shipping lanes.
Jamaica is only one of several Caribbean countries that are seeking to further cement business ties with Guyana in the wake of the ongoing oil and gas-driven transitioning of the country’s economy. The Trinidad and Tobago oil company, Petrotrin, has reportedly expressed an interest in cementing business relations with Guyana that might conceivably include the likely defining of crude oil from Guyana at the company’s refining facilities in Trinidad and Tobago.
