PRESIDENT of the United States of America, Barack Obama, is scheduled to meet with President Donald Ramotar and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government in Jamaica on April 9.The top issues on the agenda for the Guyanese leader at the meeting will be trade and security, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr Roger Luncheon.

Dr. Luncheon said the encounter with the US President and CARICOM Heads is intended to further the dialogue between both sides, with particular emphasis on trade, security and respective mutual interest.
It is also expected that following the one-day encounter, the CARICOM Heads would collectively participate in the Summit of the Americas in Panama City on April 10 and 11.
Speaking at his weekly post Cabinet press conference, held at the Office of the President yesterday, Dr Luncheon said that on the issue of trade, the focus will be to rekindle Guyana’s image as a “destination” for investors.
Dr Luncheon bemoaned the fact that Guyana was “badly hurt” by the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project debacle, where political gridlock resulted in major investors, Blackstone and Sithe Global, pulling out from the project.
The last word from the local U.S. Embassy was that investment relationships between Guyana and the United States of America (USA) are growing.
According to the former U.S. Ambassador, Brent Hardt, several U.S. companies are interested in doing business here.
“We’re each other’s closest trade partners in the sense that I think the trade relations between us is the biggest of any countries,” he said in an interview with the Chronicle, prior to his departure.
Noteworthy is the fact that the Ambassador highlighted Guyana’s potential in the oil and gas field, which he said is increasingly becoming a point of interest for U.S. investors.
Hardt said, “We’ve worked to encourage U.S. investors to come here, and I know as the oil and gas field becomes increasingly of interest here in Guyana, we’ll hopefully see more U.S. companies engaging in that area. There is already interest, and we look forward to seeing more and more companies here.”
GREATER SUPPORT
Turning his attention to security, the Cabinet Secretary said greater support will be sought from the North American nation.
The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, President Obama’s initiative, which was launched in 2010, has so far provided over US$263M in support to the Caribbean, with Guyana being a major recipient.
The U.S. has also provided metal shark boats to the Guyanese Coast Guard, facilitated training from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and worked on improving security at Guyana’s main entry points.
Over the last several decades Guyana and the United States of America has been engaged in mutually beneficial undertakings in several areas.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is another programme where much work has been done, particularly in ensuring delivery of medications in a timely manner.
In the non-traditional agriculture and aquaculture, USAID offers support to continuously advance in this regard, as well as in the area of eco-tourism and in addressing social issues.