THE GOVERNMENT has held an initial meeting with the Barama Company Limited, and the two parties are due to commence formal negotiations later this month on the renewal of the company’s Investment Development Agreement, which will expire in October.Representing the government at the initial meeting were representatives from the Ministries of Natural Resources, Indigenous People’s Affairs, Business and Public Infrastructure, along with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Forestry Commission.

The government expects to benefit from expert advice from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) to help inform its decision, the Ministry of the Presidency has said in a press release.

In September 2015, Minister Trotman visited the company’s Buck Hall operations and commented then that the government would like to see more value-added production from investors in Guyana, and he would ensure that this component is included in any new agreement.

During that tour in September, General Manager of the company, Mr. Mohindra Chand, had said that Barama has been one of the long-standing foreign companies in Guyana, and while the challenges were many, it had never considered ending operations here.

The Ministry of the Presidency quoted Chand as saying that the company has, over the years, plugged $43 billion into its operations here, and he expected Barama to grow.

Barama has been operating in Guyana since 1991.