Guyana, India investment agencies sign pact to forge business cooperation
As the delegation led by President Dr Irfaan Ali continues to create investment buzz in India, the national promotion agencies of the two countries – the Guyana Office for Investments (GO-Invest) and Invest India have agreed to build cooperation with each other.
This was done through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi, India. It took place on the sidelines of an engagement during which President Ali and his delegation were engaging with members of the Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The MoU was signed by GO-Invest Chief Executive Officer, Dr Peter Ramsaroop, and Managing Director and CEO of Invest India, Deepak Bagla.
The agreement forms part of a mutual commitment to strengthen bilateral investment relations between the two agencies, facilitate foreign direct investment, and create a framework to promote the exchange of experience and relevant information.
It is anticipated that this agreement will boost existing business ties between Guyana and India as well as further strengthen bilateral cooperation.
“Guyana Invest is pleased to partner with Invest India, the leading investment agency in the world. Prior to this MoU, we have been collaborating on areas of capacity building and technical assistance. With this agreement in place, we look forward to strengthening our ties as we forge mutual investment opportunities between our two nations,” Dr Ramsaroop stated.
Meanwhile, his Indian counterpart, Bagla, also stated that “Invest India is looking forward to collaborating with Guyana Invest to promote mutual investment and sourcing opportunities between the two nations. With this MoU, we hope to strengthen our bilateral economic relations with Guyana”.
The MoU will further look at building business ties between the two nations and strengthening bilateral cooperation.
GO-Invest is Guyana’s investment platform and is based on a democratic Government, transparency and accountability, and the belief in family, faith, and freedom. The public and private sector leaders work together in an extended vision that assures measurable objectives are successful.
Invest India is the official investment promotion and facilitation agency of the Government of India, mandated to facilitate investments in the country. It is the first stop for potential global investors in the country. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world which has not only sustained the global downturn of 2008-09 but is also slated to grow at consistently higher rates during the next few decades.
Thursday’s signing was witnessed by President Ali alongside the Indian Minister of State at the Ministry of External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, and the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa.
Additionally, members of the Guyana delegation, which included both Cabinet and private sector officials, who accompanied the Head of State for his seven-day State Visit to India, were also at the signing.
At the time, they were attending a business meeting hosted by the Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
In his remarks, President Ali said both India and Guyana are working to ensure that the two nations are strategically positioned to cooperate in a deeper and stronger way while building a framework through which the private sector can be encouraged to invest.
He noted that both countries are ready for investment, and coordination of policies, plans, and programmes to simplify the process and make it easier for the two private sectors to invest and take part in the economic activities of Guyana and India.
On the other hand, the Indian Minister of State said that the growing collaboration between the two nations over the years has been marked by the strengthening of bilateral relations on several fronts.
According to Dr Singh, India attaches high importance to the close and cordial relations with Guyana and is now looking forward to further diversifying and strengthening these ties.
Arvind Varchaswi, who chairs the India-Latin America Council and co-chairs the AYUSH Committee of FICCI, also expressed excitement to invest in wellness tourism in Guyana as well as create capacity-building and skills development in this particular sector.
Meanwhile, High Commissioner Srinivasa highlighted at the engagement that there are a lot of opportunities for both Guyana and India to benefit from by increasing investments in potential sectors. As such, he noted that it is time to retrospect, evaluate and relook at the economic ties.