–Greenidge says in bid to dispel ‘silly, self-serving’ notions about Guyana

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Mr Carl Greenidge has dismissed efforts by the Latin American Press to tarnish Guyana’s image by reporting that the country does not know how to handle foreign investments.

“During the course of the year, we have seen the Latin American Press launching attacks on the people of Guyana and foreign investors who are doing business here,” he told the House on Wednesday.
At the time making his pitch in defence of Budget 2018, Minister Greenidge said that image matters when dealing with transnational corporations, so the attacks are of deep concern to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Though he did not name a specific media entity, the minister ranted about their attempt to make the Guyana government look foolish and seem at sea where negotiating with foreign investors is concerned.
“They have been trying to suggest that foreign investors are leading Guyana by its nose, and that we do know what we are doing,” he said, adding:

“They are trying to suggest that here is a country that is backward and does not know anything, particularly since Exxon Mobil came on stream.”
This last bit saw the parliamentary opposition sit up and pay keen attention, as it’s a favourite hobbyhorse of theirs.

He succeeded in wiping the smirk off their collective faces when he reminded the House that it was the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government which signed the agreement with popular petroleum extractors, ExxonMobil.

As for the claims in the foreign press that Guyana is clearly out of its league,Greenidge merely dismissed them as “silly” and “self-serving”.
He, however, noted how disappointed he is that the cudgel was being picked up by the local media, especially where some media houses take it upon themselves to reprint those stories without attributing them.

Noting that such behaviour does not augur well for Guyana, particularly where its image is concerned, Minister Greenidge said:“Despite all of this,it is important to know that we have a number of entities that are interested in operating in Guyana.”