REPRESENTATIVES of the Region Three Private Sector Inc. (R3PSInc) met with the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD) at a stakeholders’ forum geared at capitalising on opportunities in commerce in the region.

The programme was held at Barnwell Events Space and Hotel, Public Road, Barnwell Village, East Bank Essequibo.

In attendance were at least 50 top business representatives of Region Three.

Founder of R3PSInc., Halim Khan, said that the meeting was necessary to position businesses, citizens and other stakeholders within the region to take advantage of developments in commerce.

Despite not being able to attend due to Cabinet and other commitments of his office, President, Dr Irfaan Ali, addressed the forum via amplified telephone to point out the various developments in progress and in future.

He laid out what is required from the private sector of Region Three with a focus on companies becoming competitive and offering quality and compliant services.

Meanwhile, Regional Chairman, Inshan Ayube, who voiced great support for the group and its mandate, gave sound advice on what he believes is necessary for the region to progress and prosper.

Representatives of the US Department of Defence were also in attendance to brief the Region Three Private Sector on works that have been initiated to strengthen and make more effective the security services within the region, as part of a pilot project that will be rolled out nationally.

On behalf of the Guyana Tourism Authority, Stacey Rahaman elaborated on the need for businesses to increase their visibility in their respective markets and match the level of service offered internationally.

She explained the services offered by Guyana Tourism Authority and signalled intentions for further collaboration to be done between the R3PSInc and the Guyana Tourism Authority to upskill and position businesses more favourably within the region.

Rahaman also spoke on tourism development in the region, along with capacity building of the workforce. These areas included digital media, customer service and human capacity training and empowerment.

The keynote speaker, the Director of the Centre for Local Business Development (CLBD), Natasha Gaskin, made a presentation that laid out the developments in Guyana’s budding oil and gas centre.

She explained how the CLBD is funded and how it operates and the host of resources it has available for the development of local businesses in Guyana.

It was explained that the CLBD is funded by the Greater Guyana Initiative, a collaboration between ExxonMobil and its joint venture partners CNOOC and Hess as part of a national initiative for Guyana’s local content development to ensure local businesses and citizens of Guyana benefit from the new oil and gas industry.

Businesses in attendance were given the opportunity to register with the CLBD and many were keen to do so.

Founder of R3PSInc., Halim Khan, noted that the R3PSInc was open to all businesses and stakeholders who were ready to not just be a part of but also lead regional development.

“Local content is not only about doing business and increasing the level of business that will come to local companies; local content is about building the capacity of local companies, giving them the capability, so that they can become globally competitive, so that our business environment can become globally competitive, so that they can have the necessary transformation that leads them to the next level of business development,” Khan added.

He pointed out that government has already committed to building a stable macroeconomic environment, improving the ease of doing business, improving the efficiency of government institutions, and improving legislation to respond to the economy’s future needs.