Business

Later this year Guyana will host the 38th session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean.

For all its socio-economic challenges in recent years, not least the near decimation of its tourism industry inflicted by COVID 19, the World Bank continues to see Jamaica as being on a positive growth trajectory, asserting at the beginning of 2024 that the island’s economy is poised to continue to grow for a fourth year in a row, albeit at a more gingerly pace than in previous years.

Something would have to be dreadfully wrong if, with the season of Christmas fast approaching, the word ‘Pepperpot’ were not to merit a generous mention of media attention.

We consider it sufficiently important to concede the omission of a significant sentiment expressed by some participants in the recently executed GUYEXPO event in the course of our pursuit of feedback on the event published in the November 24th issue of the Stabroek Business and headlined ‘Tryout’ exhibitors hopeful that GUYEXPO may be a ‘game changer’ and which addressed, among other things, the periodicity of the event.

In a matter of a few months after the French oil company, TOTAL positive news about the company’s intention to undertake ‘near-term’ development studies for “a large oil project offshore the country”, which the company says is scheduled to commence before year end, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ‘chimed in’ with more encouraging news about the state of the South American country’s still fragile but seemingly improving economy.

By Serkan Arslanalp, Robin Koepke, Alessandra Sozzi, Jasper Verschuur Around 1,000 ships pass through the Panama Canal each month carrying a total of over 40 million tons of goods—about 5 percent of global maritime trade volumes.

Just under a year ago, a report in the state-run Guyana Chronicle of January 31, 2023 reported that the “Guyana/Barbados Food Terminal” (it is actually a Regional Food Terminal) was “taking shape.” 

GASCI (www.gasci.com/telephone Nº 223-6175/6) reports that session 1048’s trading results showed consideration of $32,139,898 from 96,154 shares traded in 27 transactions as compared to session 1047’s trading results, which showed consideration of $6,229,188 from 33,138 shares traded in 17 transactions.

Given the myriad developmental-related holes that needs to be ‘filled’ across the Caribbean, there usually is very little, if any, respite for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), in terms of its overarching agenda at the top of which is the material transformation of a clutch of (mostly) island states saddled with challenges that have to do mostly with their chronic developmental deficiencies.

The multi-national nature of the COP-28 forum currently underway in Dubai allows for the range of the forum’s agenda to go beyond some of the central issues like climate change and fossil fuel recovery, probing other considerations that are of critical importance to the international community, as a whole, and to a considerable extent to underdeveloped countries, specifically.

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is teaming up with partner organizations in order to address the challenges of food insecurity.

Trade is one of the official themes of the currently underway 2023 United Nations Climate Change ‘Summit’ (COP 28) in Dubai to which the Caribbean is currently paying attention.

Job-seekers in Regions Three and Four, on Sunday November 26th, braved the inclement weather to congregate in the auditorium of the West Demerara Secondary School at Klien/Pouderoyen, hopeful that they would return to their homes in ‘high spirits’ and more suitably equipped to effect meaningful transformations in their lives on account of new opportunities in the world of work.

With the landmark COP 28 deliberations in Dubai having commenced just over 24 hours ago Watchers of what, currently, is the world’s single most significant international gathering, will be keen to begin to get a sense of the direction in which the deliberations will go.

In a development that underscores the fact that Guyana is currently strategically positioned in the ‘pecking order’ of potential investment havens in the region,  the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CARIBEXPORT) disclosed recently that the 2024 Caribbean Investment Forum, the region’s single largest investment promotion platform will be held here.

Cuba, like Guyana, has a reputation for turning to creativity, particularly in its agricultural and agro-processing sectors to respond to economic challenges that place restrictions on foreign food imports.