–talks up continued development, shared priorities

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali, on Wednesday, accepted the Letters of Credence from Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary of the European Union (EU), Luca Pierantoni.

During an engagement at the Office of the President, Dr. Ali urged the continued pursuit of the developmental priorities shared between the EU and Guyana.

Ambassador Pierantoni succeeds René van Nes.

The diplomat brings almost 25 years of service in the European Union. His first posting was in Sudan, between 2005 and 2008, during the Darfur crisis. Between 2008 and 2013 he worked at the EU Delegation to Thailand, where he was in charge of the assistance programme in Burma/Myanmar and along the Thai-Burma border.

Between 2014 and 2019, he was the Head of the EU Regional Cooperation in the Caribbean, being posted initially in Georgetown (Guyana) and, later on, in Bridgetown (Barbados).

In 2019 he was nominated as Head of the EU Cooperation to Argentina. Just before being nominated Ambassador to Guyana, Suriname, and Caricom, he was serving as the Head of the Political Team at the European Commission’s Representation in Italy.

Ambassador Pierantoni is a lawyer specialising in human rights and EU law; he has studied in Naples (Italy), where he hails from.

The partnership between the European Union (EU) and Guyana has remained strong, characterised by a foundation of shared values, mutual respect, and decades of constructive co-operation.

Recently, President Ali highlighted that the relationship, nurtured over 53 years, has evolved from EU development aid contributions to a robust partnership focusing on economic collaboration, capacity building, and sectoral development such as health, infrastructure, and forestry management through programmes like the Global Gateway and FLEGT VPA

President Ali said that Guyana is positively contributing to Europe’s energy security.
Every year, the EU continues to be one of Guyana’s largest trading partners, which is facilitated through the EU-CARIFORUM and the EU Economic Partnership Agreement in 2024.
He pointed out that the EU imports from Guyana were valued at US$9.7 billion.

More importantly, since the discovery of oil, there has been an increasing demand for Guyana’s crude, with that being the top export to the EU.

In 2024, 66 per cent of Guyana’s crude was exported to Europe. In the area of climate change, Guyana commends the EU’s leadership.

Due to the EU’s partnership with Guyana, this commitment has materialised through its forest partnership memorandum of understanding (MoU) and a voluntary partnership agreement, aimed at promoting sustainable forest management and combatting illegal logging.

Like the EU’s ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Guyana is in a net carbon sink.

In fact, the EU just recently launched the ‘Driving Greater Climate Finance Uptake Through Improved Frameworks, Methods, Capacity and Enhanced Awareness of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES)’ project here in Guyana.

The EU is providing funding in the sum of £1.2 million. The project endorses international efforts such as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030) and complements Guyana’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), while also aligning with the European Union’s Multiannual Indicative Programme (EU MIP).