GUYANA made further strides towards deepening its integration with its largest neighbour and hemispheric superpower Brazil at the IV Summit of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) which ended here Friday.
Just days after Guyana and Suriname reported they were taking their cooperation to new heights by advancing plans for a bridge across the border Corentyne River and other initiatives between the two neighbours, Brazil announced some of its plans to help Guyana to further integrate with the continent by assisting with a road to complement the bridge across the Takutu River.
Speaking just after he was conferred with the Order of Excellence on Thursday night at the National Cultural Centre in Georgetown, President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva noted that Brazil has a continued interest in deepening its ties with Guyana and said his successor Ms Dilma Rousseff will continue to implement the projects agreed upon by the Presidents of both countries.
Two of the projects that he mentioned are the hydro project and the Linden to Lethem road, the latter for which Brazilian funding is available.
Lula said he was looking forward also to connectivity to Guyana through the proposed fibre-optic cable.
He said a working group is being established to consider further areas of cooperation between the two countries and added that opportunities can be offered to Guyanese schoolchildren to learn Portuguese in order to gain scholarships in Brazil.
Bilateral agreements will provide Guyana with tax-free access to Guyana’s goods, and collaborative agricultural initiatives, with rice, soya and corn production, he said.
The Brazilian President recognised Guyana’s strategic juncture which can bridge UNASUR and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations and said he is awaiting Guyana’s facilitation of a meeting between CARICOM and Mercosur – the Southern Common Market.
Guyana and Brazil have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a hydroelectric plant on the border of Guyana and a Brazilian company has been identified for the management of the project, but the location of the dam is yet to be agreed.
Lula, President of Latin America’s largest economy, also said that a fibre optic network has reached the Brazilian border with its northern neighbour to integrate the two countries with broadband communication and also promised his government’s support for Brazilian companies to build the road connecting the two countries.
President Bharrat Jagdeo said: “Last night (Thursday), I was delighted to confer Guyana’s greatest honour on a true friend of Guyana – His Excellency President Lula. And as he spoke, it was a very real manifestation of what our South American destiny looks like in practice.”
“He spoke about the Takutu Bridge that now physically links Guyana and Brazil; about the new fibre optic cable that is connecting the population centres of Guyana and Northern Brazil; about the recent explosion in trade between Northern Brazilian businesses and our own, and about the deepening ties at the level of individuals, communities and businesses. He emphasised the view that he has long expressed – that Brazil prospers when its neighbours prosper”, said President Jagdeo.