GOGEC pleased with high-level political commitment between Guyana, T&T

The Guyana Oil & Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) has welcomed the move by the Governments of Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago to committing to renewed bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

On Sunday morning, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of President Dr Irfaan Ali and his T&T counterpart, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
It provides for renewed and enhanced cooperation in the areas of trade and investment. It is also expected to address non-tariff barriers and other impediments to the flow of goods and services, while pursuing enhanced cooperation in agriculture and food security, security, energy, infrastructure, tourism, education, sport and culture.
The agreement will also look to enhance the sustainable and resilient development of the two countries and advance the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).
In a statement following the signing on Sunday, GOGEC’s President Manniram Prashad congratulated the two leaders for taking a step to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.
“GOGEC is pleased to see the high-level political commitment in achieving the goals set out in the MoU between the two countries and by extension the wider regional integration agenda. In particular, GOGEC looks forward to continue working with the Government of Guyana in terms of shaping the energy landscape of Guyana and with its Trinidadian counterpart in this regard,” the missive detailed.
According to Prashad, there are many areas for cooperation, collaboration and partnerships in the energy sector, including energy infrastructure, capacity building and training and promoting joint venture partnerships between Guyanese and Trinidadian companies in the energy sector and across the oil and gas value chain.
The GOGEC President further highlighted that prior to the signing of this MoU between the two countries and prior to Guyana’s enactment of the local content legislation, a number of Trinidadian and Guyanese firms had already formed strategic partnerships to operate and exploit the opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
In 2018, GOGEC had similarly welcomed and supported the signing of a previous MoU between Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana at that time under the previous Government.
Meanwhile, Prashad also applauded President Ali for positioning Guyana to take the lead at the regional level on these fronts, thereby solidifying the country’s regional and geopolitical importance.
The GOGEC President further pointed out that the recently concluded Agriculture Investment Forum and Expo was a resounding success and a clear and explicit demonstration of the regional leaders’ support for the goals set out therein and notably, the renewed call for the resuscitation of the “Jagdeo Initiative” by regional leaders.
Building on a plan presented by then President Bharrat Jagdeo to Caricom aimed on enhancing the Region’s food security, President Ali crafted “Vision 25 by 2025” – an initiative that seeks to reduce the Caribbean’s high food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025 thus promoting food security in the Region.
To push this agenda, the Guyana Government in collaboration with Caricom (Caribbean Community) last week hosted the inaugural Agri-Investment Forum and Expo under the theme: “Investing in Vision 25 by 2025” in Georgetown.
The three-day event, from May 19 to 21, saw the participation of several regional heads including the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago as well as scores of exhibitors – both local and international.
“Against the backdrop of Guyana being the fastest growing economy in the world driven by the oil and gas sector, Guyana is well-positioned to take the lead on the regional integration agenda aimed at strengthening cooperation within the Caribbean region through the auspices of Caricom within the framework of leveraging the country’s aggressive and transformative development agenda.”
“To achieve these ambitious and common regional goals, indeed, it requires strong political leadership. Guyana does not only have oil as its attractiveness to foreign investors and underpinning its regional importance but it is also endowed with an abundance of natural resources including arable agricultural land and potable water,” the GOGEC statement detailed.