–engages North American nation on removal of visa requirements

GUYANA has engaged Canada on the possibility of visa-free travel, according to the Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana Mark Berman.

The High Commissioner said that the stakeholders recognise that there needs to be more direct flights between Canada and Guyana, so this is something they are working on.

Berman, in an invited comment on Monday, related that authorities have been engaging various carrier services in Canada to explore the possibilities, but nothing has been finalised as yet.

“We’ve been in touch with a number of them, including Air Canada and West Jet; they’re looking for the opportunity, but there is nothing that has been finalised yet,” the Canadian High Commissioner said.

Berman related that there is a lot of traffic, as a result of increased business and tourism at both ends.

“There are more Canadian businessmen coming to Guyana, and Guyanese going back and forward. We look at tourism increasing…,” Berman said.

He related that while he is not in the airline industry, they have been trying to give as much information as possible to help businesses make their decisions. Berman related that those are private companies and they have to make a business decision.

“They are not part of the Government of Canada; they need to make a decision based on a cost benefit of analysis. So, we try and ensure they have the information that they need to make the decision at the end of the day; it’s a business decision,” Berman said.

He related that the issue of visa-free travel has been raised in Ottawa, Canada, and that their visa policy is different from that of the United Kingdom (UK).

The UK recently removed the visa requirement for Guyanese going there for business and leisure for no more than six months.

British Airways, the official flag carrier of the United Kingdom, is scheduled to commence scheduled flights to Guyana in March 2023.

President Dr. Irfaan Ali, in his remarks during the announcement of the removal of the visa requirement, said that the visa-free travel arrangement for Guyanese came through a lot of hard work on both sides.

“The High Commissioner herself has been pushing this agenda; it was one of our priority areas in our meeting with [former UK] Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We raised it on several other occasions; we also raised it in the meeting with King Charles. The team, both in the UK and in Guyana, pursued the objective. And today, I am very pleased that Guyanese can travel with greater ease to the UK,” the President said.

The President called on Guyanese to be responsible in how they utilise this new privilege and not abuse it. According to the President, Guyana will be working very closely with the UK on strengthening necessary systems to ensure proper monitoring, and to guard against abuse of the system.