–enhanced connectivity, Presidents commit

GUYANA’S President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva have announced plans to further deepen bilateral ties and enhance connectivity between the two South American nations.

At a press briefing following bilateral talks on Thursday, President Ali told journalists that the areas of defence and private cooperation were discussed.

“For Guyana and Brazil there is an opportunity that is now…an opportunity that can highly integrate our economies and create enormous opportunities for the people of our two countries,” President Ali said.

Connecting the two nations by infrastructure through roads, ports and air transport will also be a key focus.

“We discussed the connectivity of our people, the role of the private sector, the involvement of the private sector, and how we can get our private sectors more integrated to look at the opportunities that exist in both Guyana and Brazil, and to look at ways in which we can bring them together in making use of those opportunities,” the Guyanese Head of State said.

He added that a working mechanism was also established to advance defence and tourism cooperation.

Opportunities for further economic integration between the two nations could stem from the creation of a government-private sector grouping to explore collaboration and maximise benefits.
“We have committed to putting together a government and private sector grouping that would go to Brazil in the second quarter of this year to showcase and interact with the Brazilian government and private sector on ways in which we can collaborate to maximise the benefits that are available in Guyana and Brazil,” President Ali said.

President Lula said that Guyana is undergoing “an extraordinary moment in terms of economic perspectives,” referencing the country’s push to modernise its infrastructure.

“I can testify coming down from the airport to the hotel, I could see with my eyes the amount of new buildings and modern highways that are being built. I am sure that in the same way these investments are going on in infrastructure, I would imagine that the same investments are being made for the improvement of the quality of lives of the people,” President Lula said.

Similarly, Brazil, he said, is undergoing its own infrastructural transformation with the country focusing on several projects.

President Lula travelled to Guyana for the 46th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caribbean Community (CARICOM); President Ali is the Chairman of CARICOM.
At a previous engagement, President Lula pledged to combat food insecurity in the Caribbean, proposing significant collaborative efforts with the regional 15-member bloc to strengthen regional food security and address the impacts of climate change.

“We want to pave our way to the Caribbean. We will open corridors capable of meeting supply demands and strengthening food security in the region,” Lula had said, highlighting the strategic integration of the Guiana Shield, which includes Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Further, addressing the country’s cooperation with Guyana, Lula said: “Our integration with Guyana is a part of Brazil’s strategy, not only to help in terms of development, but work intensively so that we can keep South American a peace zone in the planet earth.”