By Jared Liddell
AS Guyana continues to enhance its partnership with its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) sister states, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has disclosed that Guyana is set to sign a bilateral agreement with Trinidad and Tobago in August of this year.
The President, who made this disclosure following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Belizean Prime Minister on Thursday, noted that the agreement with the Twin-Island Republic is in keeping with the government’s vision of setting out a clear path through which both countries have structured dialogue to achieve particular goals.
The Head of State noted that these agreements are part of the plan to strategically remove barriers to trade among CARICOM states.
“We are working on signing an agreement with Trinidad and Tobago in August. Now we have signed an agreement with Belize, St. Lucia is coming to sign an agreement… so in a bilateral way, from country to country, if we can collectively say we got to remove all the barriers to trade individually, we got to work in a working group to remove the barriers within ourselves and eventually the barriers will be diminished,” President Ali said.
This agreement in August will be the second agreement signed between Guyana and Trinidad this year.
In May 2022, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which sought to address non-tariff barriers, areas of trade and investment, agriculture and food security, security, energy, infrastructure, education, tourism, sports, and culture to develop a strategic partnership for the mutual benefit of the two countries and the wider community.
Dr. Ali and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley, were among those who witnessed the signing.
President Ali, at that time, told the media that a bilateral commission will be established within the next three months to ensure that the initiatives under the agreement for the renewed and enhanced co-operation between the two countries are implemented in a timely and efficient manner.
The Head of State said that discussions with Trinidad and Tobago have been “very focused, very positive and forward-looking,” and has allowed both countries the opportunity to “take the bull by the horns” when identifying opportunities within both states and potential blocks to those opportunities.
President Ali noted that even as the MoU has been signed, it is pivotal that investors from both Guyana and Trinidad are fully on board. He opined that in Guyana alone, there are tremendous investment opportunities, welcoming Trinidadian investors to take advantage of the opportunities available here.
He disclosed that the government has already taken Prime Minister Rowley to visit expansive areas across the country that are ripe for investment.
Dr. Ali said that even as opportunities are available for investment and the increased production of local goods, there must be ease of connection and logistics for the delivery and transport of these products.
Further, Guyana’s President said that the two countries are already in talks for a cargo-plus ferry that would be a necessary investment to facilitate better trade relations between the two nations.