PRESIDENT David Granger on Wednesday accepted letters of credence from Mr Mohammad Ziauddin of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and Jukka Pietikäinen as non-resident Ambassador of Finland to Guyana.During the ceremony at State House, the President called called for cordial relations between Guyana and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to be significantly enhanced, particularly in the area of climate change. He said that Guyana and Bangladesh have shared cordial relations since the two countries established diplomatic ties on March 24, 1972.

“We share many common positions on international affairs. We share a common commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth,” the President was quoted as saying by the Ministry of the Presidency.

The Head of State said given that the two countries are highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, this is an area in which they should pursue cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

As such, the President said that Guyana looks forward to learning more about the steps that Bangladesh is taking to combat the threats posed by climate change. “Guyana and Bangladesh, together, can continue to agitate for increased and more rapid climate financing for small-island developing and low-lying coastal states,” he said.

According to the release, the High Commissioner, during his remarks said that he had highly anticipated meeting with the President and that his excitement stemmed from having absorbed information about Guyana’s history and observing the beauty of the country and its warm and friendly people.

Meanwhile, during the ceremony for the Finland Ambassador, the President expressed the hope that his appointment will be a catalyst to enhancing relations between the two countries. The Head of State told the Ambassador that Guyana is confident that his appointment will also add impetus to exploring avenues for collaboration, particularly in the area of climate adaptation and mitigation and sustainable energy development.

“We are committed to a low-carbon, low-emission trajectory of development. We look forward to working with you to strengthen cooperation in the areas of environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation, during your tenure… Guyana, a small state, continues to make a big contribution to the global efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. We applaud Finland’s commitment to reduce its emissions substantially and to implement measures to arrest global temperature rises and its support for developing countries in their quest to build greater climate resilience,” President Granger said.

He also spoke of Guyana’s ongoing efforts to establish a ‘green’ state, which emphasises protection of the environment, preservation of the country’s biodiversity, provision of eco-tourism and eco-educational services and the promotion of practical measures to ensure climate adaptation.

President Granger assured the Ambassador of his Government’s commitment to working closely with him in the discharge of his duties, noting that Guyana and Finland share common values such as mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, cooperation for mutual benefit, respect for treaties and international law and maintenance of peace of security.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Pietikäinen said that even though he will be based in Helsinki, he is determined to visit Guyana regularly to work on building a stronger, mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries. He noted too, that while Guyana and Finland are geographically distant from each other, the two countries have cooperated through CARICOM and through the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). “On the bilateral level, Finland has been one of the key players in building up power generation capacity in your country and we hope we will see other industrial companies from Finland entering the Guyanese market,” the Ambassador said.

With regard to the country’s prospects in the oil and gas sector, the Ambassador also expressed Finland’s readiness to assist Guyana in translating its future economic wealth into sustainable growth and prosperity.