The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and industry (GCCI) is seeking to ensure that the recent visit to India by its President, Kester Hutson, better positions it to serve the country’s private sector, particularly through the strengthening of trading links between the two countries. The favoured route, it seems, is to have the local private sector work towards tapping into an existing US$50 billion trade facility between India and the Latin America and the Caribbean.
Having just returned from the August 3-5 Ninth India-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Conclave in New Delhi, the GCCI President wasted little time in making public the Chamber’s interest in seeking to ensure that the local private sector benefit from Hutson’s visit to India. It was during his participation in the Conclave in New Delhi that the GCCI President learnt of the extent of the Latin America/India trading relationship which, according to a Chamber release, reached US$50 billion in the Fiscal Year 2022-2023. The New Delhi gathering, which, according to the release, “saw a number of government and private sector representatives marketing the abundance of business opportunities now available in Guyana,” would now appear to serve as a precursor to an energetic effort to ensure that the local private sector maximize the opportunity that now appears to exist for the strengthening of links between the local and Indian private sectors.
The release quotes Huston as saying that the Chamber “will continue to work through the High Commissioner’s Office in Delhi to gather some more information on that (the trade agreement between India and Latin America) in order to determine ‘how Guyana can benefit from it in a significant way.’” What, reportedly, continues to be a continual growth in trade between India and the Latin America/Caribbean region, reportedly reached the US$50 billion mark for the financial year 2022-2023. While Guyana will be hoping to become a newcomer to that trading relationship, India’s exports to Brazil, for example, reportedly stand at $US10 billion. Exports to Mexico from India reportedly stand at around $US 5 billion. India has also been involved in executing various projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, not least, critical infrastructure, including power transmission.
Reports from the GCCI indicate that Hutson also represented the Chamber at various other engagements in India where he reportedly advocated for collaboration between the Guyana private sector and business enterprises in India. Hutson said that there are currently businesses in India that are seeking to conduct business and develop partnerships with Guyana. Business ties between India and Guyana have also been strengthened after India became the first country, in March, 2021, to import oil from Guyana. The first shipment of Guyana’s crude was purchased by HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd, a joint venture between the state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp and steel tycoon L.N. Mittal.
