THE population of Guyanese living overseas is becoming an important aspect of Guyana’s development.

Consequently, the Diaspora Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be intensifying its work this year in engagements with those citizens to facilitate, at the very least, the transfer of knowledge, skills and training, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said.
She made the disclosure during her presentation on the 2014 Budget in the National Assembly Monday night.
According to her, those interventions will facilitate the return of Guyanese on short-term or long-term attachments, for which the Diaspora Unit has been collaborating with the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) for the formulation and implementation of the Guyana Diaspora Project.
That scheme is aimed at creating a database on Guyanese living overseas, profiling them, in terms of skills available and, more importantly, whether they would like to be involved in Guyana’s development more than they are now, she said.
This survey was completed in December 2013 and the Minister revealed that, from the information collected through it, a number of important steps will be taken.
These will include the formulation of a comprehensive Diaspora Policy Strategy to formally establish mechanisms for engagements and building capacity within the Diaspora Unit to:

* create a One-Stop Shop for dealing with all Diaspora matters;
* establishing pilot projects in collaboration with donor agencies to facilitate the return of Guyanese on short-term or long-term attachments for the transfer of knowledge, skills and training, and
* the convening of a Diaspora Conference to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, skills and training, which would bring together the Diaspora, Government and Civil Society, for consultations and dialogue on a number of diverse issues.

(By Clifford Stanley)