A MAJOR investment conference opens here today, and is specifically focused on  enhancing Guyana’s economic prosperity by identifying the challenges and opportunities facing foreign and local investments in this country. The two-day seminar, which is being held under the theme ‘Maximizing Opportunities for Investment in Guyana’, is being held at the  International Conference Centre at Liliendaal.
The initiative is a multi stakeholder effort and is being hosted by the Government, in collaboration with the  U.S. Embassy, the British High Commission, Canadian High Commission, the European Union (EU) Delegation,  UNDP,  IDB, Repsol, Pacific Rubiales, the Private Sector Commission and other stakeholders.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by the Guyanese Head-of-State President Donald Ramotar and the President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. William Warren Smith. Government Ministers, Mr. Clement Rohee, the Minister of Home Affairs, and Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Kumar Singh will address the forum tomorrow. Executive Director of the Regional security agency, CARICOM IMPACS, Mr. Francis Forbes, will also speak on the second day.
The conference will cover six thematic areas, the press release notes, which include the Challenges and Opportunities of investing in Guyana; Investment Promotion; Investment Protection; Capital Markets Decision Processes; Corporate Governance; and Security.  To make presentations and engage in panel discussions under these areas,  the organisers have invited local and international experts from organisations such as the Export Development Canada, Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, CARICOM  IMPACS, UK Department for International Development (UKDFID), the United Nations  Development Programme (UNDP), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union (EU), Private Sector Commission (PSC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The seminar is being held with the aims of encouraging greater foreign direct investment and enhancing the ease of doing business in Guyana including through export credits; promoting good governance by identifying areas where greater transparency, regulatory reform and enhanced enforcement is required; outlining the impact of bribery and corruption on investment and discussing international best practices; and identifying the means to measure and report on initiatives recommended.