with official establishment of local EU Chamber of Commerce

BUSINESSES in both Guyana and the European Union (EU) member states are expected to foster better business and trade relations, as the European Chamber of Commerce was officially established locally.

The Chamber of Commerce which, this month, officially established a presence in Guyana, was on Monday evening introduced to the public at a reception at the EU Ambassador’s Residence.

Though launched some time ago, it has been officially registered with a seven-member team with Gregory Dean as Chairman and Vasudeo Singh, Martin Anez Rea, Yanet Vazquez Espinola Singh, Anand Harrilall, Ryan Ramjit and Martin Cheong as Directors.
In a brief address at the launch of the chamber, Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill said that it is his hope that networking through the newly established chambers will develop synergies, and possible partnerships and create investment opportunities.

He said: “This will bring a new wave and a new breath of fresh air, both in terms of time, quality and style because in every part of the world you have different experiences. We are not closed to any group… Guyana is open for business, and whoever wants to come to Guyana on fair terms and conditions to satisfy what we are seeking to do.”
With this new venture, Edghill said that he is sure the conversations will be deep and the low-hanging fruit can be looked at and addressed while confidence is built to participate in Guyana’s growth.

Meanwhile, Dean told the gathering that he was pleased to announce the full establishment of the European Chamber of Commerce in Guyana.
“We’ve been set up to create opportunities, to network, share knowledge and also best practices, advocate on behalf of our members in the EU, and also in Guyana, provide advice and support to EU companies entering the Guyanese market, and also for me, critically, Guyanese companies wanting to enter the EU market,” he said.
Dean related that they have seen a lot of interest in Guyanese companies wanting to enter the EU market, but have had difficulties among other things.
As such, he indicated that the chamber will play a critical role in terms of getting companies to establish their businesses in the EU. Dean said too that they are open for business and ready to foster better relations between the EU and Guyana.

Further, the EU Ambassador to Guyana, René Van Nes, said that for EU businesses to harvest the incredible potential of Guyana they will need to build partnerships.
“You will need to build partnerships and I know Guyana wants to do partnerships, I know the Guyanese private sector wants to build partnerships, and I think that is exactly what European companies are here for,” Van Nes said.

In July of this year, the Ambassador told the Guyana Chronicle that they had received numerous calls from Guyanese businesses that were interested in entering the EU market. He said that opportunities exist for Guyanese in the European market, as Guyana benefits from duty-free exports to the European market among other incentives.