Head of State Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday bade farewell to Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Charles Court, during a courtesy call at the Office of the President.

President Bharrat Jagdeo and outgoing Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Charles Court, at the Office of the President during the High Commissioner’s farewell courtesy call on the Head of State.

High Commissioner Court, who was born in the United Kingdom in 1953, is married with two children. He was educated at the University of Toronto and has served the Canadian Government for over 30 years in various posts.

Some of his assignments include Deputy Permanent Representative in Brussels; Counsellor in London; Deputy Director, Western Europe Relations Division; Third Secretary and Vice-Consul in Belgrade; and Second Secretary and Vice Consul in Kuwait.

After the courtesy call, the High Commissioner highlighted some of the significant accomplishments achieved during his tenure in Guyana.

“I think we’ve helped contribute to improving or clarifying the investment environment which is important if we want to promote Canadian trade and investment in Guyana, which has been significant over the years, and we want it to continue to grow,” he said.

“I think we’ve had some good influence on some governance issues which is corporate social responsibility. We’re contributing…to the important local government elections which are coming up, which is key to rebuilding a resilient democracy,” he also indicated.

On the future of Canada-Guyana relations, he stressed that the Canadian Government has made developing relations with the Americas and with the Caribbean and CARICOM one of the centerpieces of its foreign policy, and he is optimistic that high level political dialogue will continue between the two countries.

Further, Canada will be implementing the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Caribbean programme, which he said “will add further dimensions to our development relationship”.

Finally, High Commissioner Court indicated that his Government was supportive of Guyana’s efforts to combat climate change.

“We’ve been working with Guyana and a number of other countries on an international committee that looks at how to finance things like avoided deforestation, and we’ll continue to do that,” he explained.