Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary to visit Guyana on Friday

– to meet with top officials, scout investment opportunities

Parliamentary Secretary to Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maninder Sidhu, who is currently in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) for the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Heads of Government meeting, will travel to Guyana this week for a series of bilateral engagements.
The 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom is currently underway in Port-of-Spain. While there, he will meet with Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs, Amery Browne and Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds, to discuss furthering trade and investment and regional security.
In addition, Parliamentary Secretary Sidhu will attend a round-table networking event to learn about the opportunities and challenges for Canadian businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. When he arrives in Guyana, his visit will be a multi-faceted one.
“During his visit to Guyana, Parliamentary Secretary Sidhu will meet with Hugh Todd, Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to strengthen the two countries’ collaboration on shared priorities, including energy transition and food security,” a statement said.
“The Parliamentary Secretary will also get a better understanding of Guyana’s economic situation and its opportunities for Canadian companies by meeting key political and commercial stakeholders,” the statement further said.
It was further explained that Secretary Sidhu will have the chance to visit local projects that support migrants and early childhood development in Indigenous communities and that are funded by the Caribbean Regional Development Programme and the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

Canada and Guyana enjoy a close relationship built on more than 50 years of deep people-to-people ties, important trading connections, a long-standing collaboration aimed at advancing inclusive economic development and security partnership.
Guyana is one of Canada’s largest merchandise trading partners in Caricom. In 2022, the value of the bilateral merchandise trade totalled $294.1 million, with imports valued at $241.4 million and exports valued at $52.7 million.
Back in April 2022, when Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business & Economic Development, Mary Ng visited Guyana, a number of steps were taken in strengthening the bilateral trade and investment relationship between Canada and Guyana were established
During that time, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to facilitate the transfer of Canadian technology and expertise to Guyana as the country invests in the infrastructure, information and communication technologies, aerospace, clean tech, and security sectors.
The MoU further established a framework under which the two countries can strengthen their economic and commercial relations that will see more Canadians doing business in Guyana and Guyanese businesses investing in Canada.
It was only in 2020 that the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, a non-partisan institution promoting and facilitating investment and trade between Guyana and Canada, and Guyana and other countries, was launched.
Canada has long-standing ties with Caricom and its members on a wide range of issues, including trade, security and defence, and governance.