AROUND 100 Guyanese are serving various prison terms on mostly drug charges in French Guiana jail, recently accredited French Ambassador to Guyana,Antoine Joly,disclosed during a meeting with the Attorney General, Basil Williams last week.
The Ambassador mentioned that there are about 400 Guyanese residing in French Guiana and out of this number,he said about 100 of them are in prison serving various prison terms on mostly drugs and other related offences. When asked if there is any arrangement between French Guiana and this country whereby Guyanese prisoners could be transferred to Guyana to complete their jail terms, he said there is neither Treaty nor any Agreement between the two countries. He however said, depending on the gravity of the offence, some of the prisoners may be deported to Guyana when they complete their jail terms while some may be allowed to remain in the country after serving their terms.
On the economy, he said the economy depends mostly on the Government employment supported from Paris. He further stated that mining and logging are outlawed in the country in order to protect the nationals from mercury poison from mining activities and also to preserve the forest of the country. However, he mentioned that as the country’s unemployment rate has risen to 20/100, the government is considering allowing private mining and logging activities in order to narrow the unemployment rate. He however said that the proposal will be considered strictly under the French Code applying in the country. Joly also discussed proposals to formulate informal ways and means in which French Guiana and Guyana could share information on security, trade and other issues and other bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the accreditation,President David Granger had said that Guyana is ready to bolster its already strong relationship with the French Republic through investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, education, infrastructure, mining, oil and gas, sanitation, transportation and water and cooperation on matters relating to climate change and environmental protection.
Speaking on Guyana’s commitment to a low-carbon, low-emission development trajectory, President Granger lauded France’s role in achieving the historic global agreement on climate change,also known as the Paris Agreement. “We are pleased to have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement. We are committed to working closer with France in preserving and protecting the Guiana Shield of which both Guyana and La Guyane are constituents. We shall place an additional two million hectares of our territory under conservation as part of our nationally-determined commitments under that ‘Agreement’,” President Granger said.
Speaking of the country’s ‘green’ state agenda, he said that it will place emphasis on environmental protection, biodiversity preservation, provision of eco-tourism and eco-educational services and promotion of renewable energy and practical measures to ensure climate adaptation.

Over the years, Guyana and France has shared strong relationship, which the President said is founded on the tenets of mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, cooperation for mutual benefit, respect for treaties and international law and the maintenance of regional peace and security. He also spoke of the many benefits Guyana has derived from its relationship with the French Republic. This ranged from debt relief and disaster relief in the aftermath of the 2005 floods, technical training for the Guyana Defence Force, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Fire Service. “We anticipate, also, continued cooperation between our two countries at the multilateral level through the United Nations, the ACP-EU [African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States-European Union] Partnership Agreement, the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States and the European community and through bi-regional cooperation between the EU [European Union] and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States,” President Granger said.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Joly, who will be resident in neighbouring Suriname, in his remarks said that the Government of France wishes to deepen its relations with Guyana and to move forward together to implement measures in the areas of security, judicial cooperation and environmental protection. “France would also be happy to accompany in its efforts of building links with the European Union, particularly in the framework of the economic partnerships between the EU and CARICOM [Caribbean Community]… I am convinced that we can build more fruitful relations based on cooperation between our two countries,” he said. Guyana and France established formal diplomatic relations on June 22, 1967.