-PM says at Canada Day celebration

PRIME Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips on Thursday reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to enriching bilateral relations with Canada.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during a reception hosted by the Canadian High Commission in observance of the 157th anniversary of Canada’s confederation, which was held at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre.

During his remarks, he highlighted the long-standing partnership between Guyana and Canada and noted that the relationship is deeply rooted in a foundation evident not only in the diaspora connection, but also in the shared history as members of the Commonwealth family.
“Our common values and our strict adherence to the tenets of international law, including sovereign equality of states; inviolability of frontiers; territorial integrity; peaceful settlement of issues and cooperation among states. We have always recognised these principles as being fundamental to the international system and have consistently demonstrated our commitment as responsible states to ensuring that our hemisphere remains a zone of peace,” he said.
Further to this, he stated that Guyana values the role that Canada plays as one of the long-standing development partners. He added that the framework of cooperation includes programmes and projects that have supported national efforts in building critical sectors.
The Prime Minister said: “As one of our principal trading partners, we laud Canada’s efforts in the promotion of trade and economic development through the renewal of the Caribbean-Canada trade agreement… which allows for the non-reciprocal preferential trade of our products to Canada and facilitates improved trade, the promotion of investment opportunities and encourages economic cooperation among other shared benefits.”
To this end, he said that Guyana welcomes Canada’s commitment to re-energise its relations with CARICOM.
Meanwhile, the High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana, Mark Berman, during his remarks also expressed that over the many years, Canada and Guyana have fostered a close friendship which he emphasised is based on common values.
Highlighting that the two countries have been trade partners for many years, he indicated that this is expected to continue as a result of the shared values and commitments to international law.