I am pleased to read that President Bharrat Jagdeo was in the Brazilian State of Foz do Iguacu where the lovely water falls by the same name (spelled differently on the Spanish Argentine side) is located. The location for the Mercosur summit is significant because, like our rainforest in Guyana, efforts are made to protect the vegetation to limit environmental damage by climate change. And President Jagdeo fits in nicely in the state and city (of same name) because of his campaign to protect the environment and promote LCDS.
I wish to applaud the President for his promotion of Guyana at this international forum and taking advantage of opportunities to transform our economy to improve the quality of life of in the country.
On a little about the location of the summit, Iguacu (Iguazu) Falls is similar to our Kaieteur, though much wider and has one of the largest volume of water falling per second. Iguazu lacks the depth of Kaieteur. One can also see it on the Argentine side by crossing a bridge. Both are spectacular sites, similar to Kaieteur, but Argentina provides a closer view to and experience with the falls from its origin. The Iguacu area is humid with temperature similar to Guyana’s especially in the Kaieteur zone – very tropical.
Iguacu is one of Brazil’s most-frequented tourist destinations. I visited many years ago when I was a college student. There is a lovely nature park which charges a hefty entrance fee to vehicles that is used for forest preservation. There are fantastic hotels in the lush green vegetation that takes the form of a thick canopy. The entire area is under protection to preserve the forest – in line with Jagdeo’s goal. My recollection is, there is a huge hydro-electric plant providing electricity to Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay and bridges connect the three countries because from there I visited Argentina and Paraguay where shopping is very cheap and are not taxed when returning to Brazil. Paraguay has good (though unrefined) leather products. Many Paraguayians cross over and work in Iguacu and many Brazilians work in the neighbouring city of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay, which is the official duty-free market. And from there, one goes to Paraguay for cheap shopping especially for leather products.
We should seek to promote and market Kaieteur similar to Iguazu which can provide quality jobs and a boost to our economy.