HIS Excellency Dr. Leslie Satruken Ramsammy, on Wednesday, formally presented his letter of credence to Her Excellency Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The ceremony officially accredited Dr. Ramsammy as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the WTO, effective from August 1, 2024.

During the presentation at the WTO headquarters, Ambassador Ramsammy expressed Guyana’s deep appreciation to Dr. Okonjo-Iweala and the WTO secretariat for the ongoing support provided to Guyana, particularly in technical capacity-building.

As a small economy facing human resource constraints, Guyana has greatly benefitted from the WTO’s initiatives. Dr. Ramsammy also announced that Guyana will host training workshops on specific WTO issues later this year and early in 2025 in Georgetown, further strengthening the nation’s trade capabilities.

In his address, Ambassador Ramsammy underscored Guyana’s leadership in several critical areas, including Food and Nutrition Security, Climate and Environment Security, and Energy Security. He highlighted the country’s ongoing efforts to diversify its economy, emphasising the careful approach being taken to avoid the pitfalls that some nations have encountered when focusing too heavily on an oil-based economy.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala commended Guyana for its significant contributions to food and nutrition security, particularly within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). She praised the country’s efforts, which have led to an 11% reduction in CARICOM’s food import bill—an important step towards achieving the regional goal of reducing the food import bill by 25% by 2025, known as the “25 by 25” initiative.

Both Ambassador Ramsammy and Dr. Okonjo-Iweala reiterated the importance of digital trade and the continued development of the services sector, recognising that digitally delivered services represent the future of global trade.

Guyana, a WTO member since January 1, 1995, and a member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since July 5, 1966, remains committed to supporting the work of the WTO and upholding a fair and transparent multilateral trading system. As the CARICOM Ministerial Spokesperson on WTO matters, Guyana takes this responsibility seriously, advocating for the region within the global trade community.

Ambassador Ramsammy was accompanied by Mr. Colin Luckie, First Secretary of Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the WTO, during the presentation.