PRESIDENT, David Granger has announced that Guyana will soon sign an economic cooperation agreement with Barbados.

The initial idea behind the pact was discussed during the ninth meeting of the Prime Ministerial sub-committee of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) in Barbados early this month, said President Granger during his remarks at the launch of the Guyana Trade and Investment Exhibition (GuyTIE).

The announcement of the new cooperation agreement comes one day after Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote energy cooperation right here in Georgetown.

“We see Guyana’s future in the Caribbean and we see the Caribbean’s future in Guyana,” the President stated while highlighting the Caribbean as an important common market amidst trade wars and Brexit. The combined land space of the countries of the Caribbean Community is almost equivalent to that of Sweden. President Granger pointed out that this has the potential for increased intra-regional trade.

Intra-regional exports, at the end of 2014, stood at a 13.1 per cent of total regional exports of US$22.3 Billion, he noted. The region’s estimated US$4.5B annual food import bill, the Head of State said, could be slashed. However, he noted that there is a need for intensified collaboration between local, regional and international firms to grasp opportunities, which can provide a platform for global market penetration.

“Guyana’s economic development has been constrained, historically, by the small size of its population, small domestic markets and the small range and volume of primary commodity exports. These have made its economy highly vulnerable to exogenous economic shocks,” the president noted.

He touted the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), as the way to build more resilient economies, not only in the Caribbean but also locally. Reference was made to the CSME’s long-term aim of creating a single economic space with an enlarged market producing globally competitive goods and services. The President committed that Guyana will continue to pursue regional economic cooperation in order to build greater prosperity and global competitiveness.

On Wednesday President Granger said tapping into Trinidad and Tobago’s wealth of experience while that country capitalises on Guyana’s natural resources would create a win-win situation for both countries. He said the MoU with Trinidad and Tobago sets the platform on which the two countries can develop and promote joint projects throughout the hydrocarbon value chain, in accordance with identified provisions and without prejudice to their respective national legal systems. “Our economic interests are intertwined with those of the region and we will continue to pursue regional economic cooperation to build greater prosperity and global competitiveness… Guyana’s future is in the Caribbean and the Caribbean’s future is in Guyana,” the president said.