A GINA Man-in-the-Street
Although a young democracy, Government has been able to raise Guyana’s economic status from underdeveloped to a developing economy, a fact it is proud of, and continues to foster profound economic growth of the country. Government is cognizant of the fact that, as a developing nation, it cannot exist in isolation since the global market is interconnected and countries depend on each other for scarce resources and political support.
Guyana has always boasted of its ability to have friendly bilateral and multilateral relations with its neighbours and further afield. Its presence in CARICOM, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), and other international bodies demonstrates the country’s recognition in the international arena.
On November 26, Guyana, the only English speaking country in South America ascended to Chairmanship of UNASUR. This is a significant achievement for Guyana as the country will be able to strengthen economic, political and social ties with its South American counterparts.
The Government Information Agency solicited members of the public’s response to Guyana’s leadership of the union.
UNASUR is a political and economic union comprising the 12 independent South American Nations. Its objective is to create a South American integrated space in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and infrastructural spheres.

HENRY RODNEY: We belong here in South America and geographically we are South Americans even more than we are Caribbean people. I am happy because at least we have a chance now to showcase and highlight what we have and even strengthen ties with all the other South American countries.
Guyana, being at the helm, would be able to make business deals, and open up new ventures because we know there are some powerful South American countries and once we link ties with them, then definitely we will benefit. We are in a good position and I hope that they ride well in the saddle and make the best of it and have Guyana benefitting from this UNASUR chairmanship.

GEOFF DA SILVA: This is a very exciting time for Guyana and it makes all of us very proud that President Jagdeo will be chairing UNASUR. This is the union of all South American nations with a population of over 350 million people, so it is a huge market with a GDP of over US $2 trillion. Brazil is the 8th largest economy in the world today, Colombia has a very dynamic economy, Chile in the south is also one of the best economies in developing countries. We have Argentina, Uruguay so this is extremely exciting for Guyana… for countries like Guyana to continue to grow we have to diversify our markets. Other than selling natural resources, semi processed goods to China and India, we have these huge markets in South America so I think for Guyana, from the market side alone, the new markets, new products, it’s very exciting. Secondly, it will assist and aid Guyana in the whole integration of our country, especially with Northern Brazil, but also Venezuela and by extension Colombia and Ecuador, and by extension into Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina. So I think this will help us greatly in the programme to develop the road from Lethem to Linden, hydro power, the fibre optic cables from Guyana into Northern Brazil, so all in all it is a new era for Guyana and it is for real.

YESU PERSAUD: Well, first of all, this is a concept that we hope will grow and mature. In my opinion, it is going to develop reasonably well. This is not a union yet, but any togetherness has to always bear in mind that they have to work together as a team for the common good.

STEVEN THOMPSON: From the summit, it should bring our country into the global market. I believe that the President is trying to capitalize on these summits and I think it’s good. I trust that it would give us a lot of publicity globally, especially in South America. Football is coming soon to Brazil and I would like to urge all the business people to use this opportunity to push our economy so that it can bring more jobs and more improvements generally.

KOMAL SAMAROO: I think it is an honour for Guyana and every Guyanese ought to be proud. It is an opportunity for Guyana to reach out to our Southern neighbours and to be more integrated with the very large markets that exist there.
I think the period of our presidency should be one to serve Guyana and its people extremely well. I have absolutely no doubt about the capacity and capability of our President and I think he will do extremely well. 

RAUL SAMUELS: Most of the time you hear Guyana involved in something of this nature, it’s usually in CARICOM, but then South America is much closer. At the helm of our leadership we have someone who is experienced in dealing with other leaders given his track record, we would be more than able to strengthen our ties with our fellow South American neighbours.