Local businesses heading to Scotland to foster oil relations

Come November, a delegation from local businesses who are members of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will be heading to the oil city of Aberdeen, Scotland in the United Kingdom in a quest to develop business relations in the area of oil and gas.
This was announced on Thursday by GCCI President Deodat Indar during a press conference held at the entity’s Waterloo Street, Georgetown head office.
The trade mission is expected to begin on November 25 and wind down on November 30. The GCCI intends to have this be the first of many visits to the UK with the same focus.
According to Indar, this remarkable initiative will help businesses to spring into other avenues to bring about growth in a feasible manner.
“If one company in Guyana had to go up there (to Scotland and) sort out a partner (and) evaluate that partner, it would take a long and hard process and it will cost that company a lot of money and these missions are there to ease out all of that and make that, to some extent, not needed,” he said.
The Head of the Private Sector organisation also noted how expectant he was of agreements being signed during that visit to bridge the gap between the countries.
GCCI Vice President Nicholas Boyer explained the importance of the trip, noting that the trade mission became a reality after the GCCI engaged the British High Commissioner and the Guyanese embassy in the UK.
He went on to highlight that Aberdeen is an impacting city within the oil and gas sector in the UK. The Vice President alluded to the fact that Guyana needed to reach out to other countries who have experience in that sector if the country was to truly flourish from its earnings.
It was explained by him that the GCCI intended to have its members connected to the foreigners who were well-schooled in the area and interested in setting up partnerships through the transfer of technology and skills to promote local growth and capacity.
Boyer said, “While there, we are going to meet the oil and gas association from the UK, the Energy Industries Council, the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce and some other organisations that will allow our members to get connected to their levels and once we build that bridge, it is expected that the UK-Guyana trade will grow.”
Meanwhile, British High Commissioner Greg Quinn pointed out that the city has a long history which Guyana can learn from although it, too, has made some mistakes.
According to him, “The visit has got several aspects to it and one is to allow us to connect business to business links, not just in the oil industry, but in other areas as education and such like culture. It will allow the educational industry in Aberdeen to reach out to the educational institutions here and it will allow us to build a relationship I hope between the Aberdeen Council and the City Council back here.”
Quinn also flagged the importance of the trade mission as it was the first of its kind to the UK, laying the foundation for growth in several areas.
ABIS Energy Guyana Limited Managing Director Francis Kiennan endorsed the words of the High Commissioner saying that the UK has over 60 years of experience in the area of oil and gas.
The Director added that he hoped the trade mission allowed for the strengthening and renewal of diplomatic and business relations between the countries.
So far, more than five companies have signed up for the trade mission, which has no other requirement but for interested businesses to be registered with the GCCI; the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA); the Private Sector Commission (PSC) or other sister agencies.