— says Canadian High Commissioner on reassignment to Barbados

Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana and Suriname, Lilian Chatterjee said she is “glad to remain in the CARICOM family” in a Twitter post on Friday, following the announcement that she had been reassigned as Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados.

The reassignment was announced on Friday, among a number of other new diplomatic appointments, in a statement from the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne.
Chatterjee will now replace Marie Legault in Barbados while her replacement to Guyana has not yet been announced.
“Sorry to leave Guyana and Suriname but glad to remain in the @CARICOMorg family with my new appointment as High Commissioner to Barbados. A privilege to represent Canada,” Chatterjee expressed.

Chatterjee has served as High Commissioner to Guyana since 2017, with concurrent accreditation as ambassador to Suriname and as the plenipotentiary representative of Canada to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Chatterjee has had a long career within Global Affairs Canada. She served as Director-General of the Strategic Integration, Europe, Middle East and Maghreb Branch, and prior to that she held the position of Director-General for Social Development in the Partnerships for Development Innovation Branch.

In 2003, Chatterjee had joined the Canadian International Development Agency, where she later became the Director-General of the Canadian Partnership Branch.
Chatterjee was among other diplomats who featured prominently during the 2020 elections stalemate, in their call for democracy to prevail in Guyana. President Irfaan Ali has expressed profound gratitude to the Canadian Government and Chatterjee for their unwavering support for democracy in Guyana.
Chatterjee had met with President Ali last month, where the two sides discussed strengthening relations in several key areas across all sectors in Guyana, including oil and gas, agriculture, training and capacity building and investment opportunities.

Earlier this month, Chatterjee had offered her country’s assistance to help Guyana to develop the legislative sector, particularly with the reforming of electoral statutes.
Canada-Guyana business relations encompass a plethora of trade initiatives which include, but are not limited to, agriculture, oil and gas, mining, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The two countries also share extensive people-to-people ties. The Guyanese diaspora in Canada, in 2018, was estimated to be around 200,000. Guyana also benefits from bilateral funding through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives; and Canada’s Caribbean Regional Development programme, which also supports Caribbean collaboration and integration efforts.