Guyana will serve as economic diversification blueprint for developing states – Caribbean export chief

Caribbean Export Development Agency Executive Director, Dr Damie Sinanan recently highlighted that Guyana would be a blueprint for other developing member states who are on the path towards diversifying their economies.
Dr Sinanan made the comment on Sunday during an episode of the Energy Perspectives Podcast, and revealed that the Caribbean Export Development Agency in this year’s edition of the Caribbean Investment Forum focused on three main development areas which are sustainable agriculture, green economy transition and digitisation of businesses.

On this point, the Director noted that there was an investment gap among member states in the move towards developing green economies. As such, he noted, that significant work must be done to ensure the Region’s sustainability and competitiveness.
“The world is progressing at a very fast pace, and the Caribbean region has to catch up. And the Caribbean region has the added disadvantage of being in a very vulnerable state, because we’re mostly all small island developing states, developing economies. We have the only least developed country in the Western Hemisphere in Haiti. So, we have a lot of work to do in the Caribbean region if we are to compete and if we have to keep up. We see, and we have to ask ourselves some very serious questions,” he stated.
On this point, the Director revealed that given Guyana’s rapid economic growth and emerging status as an economic leader in the region, the country would play a significant role in driving regional development and fostering greater economic integration among Caribbean territories. He further noted that Caricom Member States must work together during this critical stage of economic transformation.
“At the end of the day, we have to be one Caribbean, we have to approach the challenges together, we can’t approach it as 15 different Member States, because we’re too small, we’re not going to have any impact, we don’t have skill. If we unite, come together, do business together, share technologies that’s the only way we’re going to go forward,” he said, adding that “Guyana is doing wonderful things. You know, the oil and gas industry is really taking off. But you can see the investment in diversification, you can see the investment in green technologies, you can see the investment in other [sectors], in digitalisation, Internet penetration. If these models can be shared, and we can work together as a region, it can really benefit us.”
Moreover, the Director revealed that the Private Sector was one of the key pillars that would bolster economic growth in the region. As such, he reaffirmed the Caribbean Export Development Agency’s commitment towards supporting businesses in the sector.
“It is our goal and objective to work with the Private Sector, to build their capacity, build their competitiveness, and get them to export and increase their exports into new and exciting markets, as well as attract Foreign Direct Investment into the Region. We see the Private Sector as really the engine of growth for economic development in the Caribbean region, because once the Private Sector does well and they grow and expand, they attract more Foreign Direct Investment, more foreign exchange, and they employ more people and improve the livelihoods of their workers,” he stated.
Additionally, Dr Sinanan highlighted that countries that transition into greener economies would provide citizens with more opportunities while also reducing the impacts of climate change.
“And in my address…, I quoted a fact that there are studies that show that green economy transition produces 400,000 new jobs, can produce 400,000 new jobs. So there’s that element where we can upscale our population from a school age to understand what’s that green economy transition, so we can build new technical jobs. So, there’s a lot of benefits from a Private Sector point of view. And then you look at the environmental side as well, where we actually contributing to our own futures by reducing the effects of climate change,” he stated.