Brazil sees Guyana as key player in the region – Ambassador
Brazilian Ambassador to Guyana, Maria Clara Duclos Carisio has positioned that her country sees Guyana as an important player in the achievement of common goals for the region.
This was highlighted during a reception hosted on the occasion of Brazil’s Bicentennial Independence Anniversary. In attendance was President Dr Irfaan Ali and other important officials.
The diplomat voiced, “Brazil is always open for dialogue and cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean. Especially with Guyana, Brazil is convinced that working together is the best and fastest way to achieve our common goals. Brazil and Guyana have many areas of cooperation where objectives and solutions can be shared for the mutual benefit of their people. Let me mention the important role Guyana plays in leading all the Caribbean countries to participate in the initiatives of cooperation on agriculture and food security. “
According to Ambassador Carisio, Brazil is confident that the products being developed by the two governments will result in immense benefits for Guyana and the state of the North of Brazil. These include areas of agriculture, infrastructure, energy, defence and security.
“The bilateral trade is increasing and lots of opportunities are opened for our business communities on both sides,” she added.
Meanwhile, President Dr Irfaan Ali said that the relationship between Guyana and Brazil will continue to grow given that the countries share a common future with common opportunities.
Ali expressed, “We are proud to be your neighbour. We see no difference between Brazil and Guyana…We live in peace. We live in full respect of each other. We respect the territorial integrity and borders of each other. More importantly, you support us without a doubt on the issue of our borders.”
President Ali added that the neighbouring countries are connected not only in trade, economics and foreign policy but also through culture. He noted that the “most important glue of friendship is our people, our culture, and more importantly our love for sports”. He assured that Guyana’s cooperation and collaboration will continue in the areas of defence, food security, climate security, and foreign policy.
A few months ago, Guyana and Brazil held detailed discussions on infrastructure and energy, among other areas of bilateral interest during a one-day state visit of President Jair Bolsonaro.
By June, Guyana registered two lifts of one million barrels of crude each from the Liza Phase One and the Liza Phase Two projects operated by ExxonMobil for the month of June, and Brazilian state-owned company Petrobras purchased one of these lifts.
Meanwhile, the countries also signed bilateral treaties that would see collaboration on a number of security and legal areas including the seizure and disposal or exchange of assets during criminal investigations and prosecutions.