The trade relationship between the United Kingdom and Guyana has reached a new peak, with a record-breaking £$1.6 billion in transactions for 2022. In response to this outstanding performance, a delegation of seven prestigious British companies has arrived in Guyana, seeking to explore additional investment avenues.
During a press conference at the Marriott Hotel on Tuesday morning, British High Commissioner, Jane Miller explained that the trade mission was coordinated in partnership with the Caribbean Council, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the British Chamber of Commerce.
Managing Director of Caribbean Council, Chris Bennett told members of the media that the companies seeking investment opportunities are the Sangfroid Group which specialises in international risk management solutions and protective services to governments, Price Forbes, which boasts over 100 years as a specialist insurance broking firm, and Enviro Technology Services Ltd (Part of the Cura Terrae group) which is a global supplier of real-time instrumentation for measuring air pollution and greenhouse gases.
Other key firms include Innovo Group, Dints International , Invest Northern Ireland and Contracta Construction UK Ltd.
Eleven UK delegates are also part of the delegation. They were drawn from the mining, insurance, construction, defense, security and environmental sectors. Over the next few days, the delegates will be engaging with government, private sector and other stakeholders.
Bennett also shared that this mission marks the third to be hosted in Guyana since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2015.
“We’ve been very focused on supporting UK trade and investment links with Guyana since 2000, when we were founded, but particularly in the last two years since the pandemic. I’ve been delighted to work with the British High Commission here and the Government of Guyana to really drive trade and investment links,” Bennett said.
Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh who was present to welcome the delegation, underscored during his remarks, his government’s open-door policy for such missions which are critical to ensuring knowledge sharing, job creation and even technology transfer to locals.
“This level of interest by international companies in Guyana is not new or not surprising. It reflects the recognition across the world and across companies worldwide of the opportunities that exist in Guyana’s rapidly growing economy,” the minister said.
He also noted that previous missions of similar ilk have recorded an extremely strong success rate. “High Commissioner confirmed this morning that 50% of the companies that came in the previous British trade missions have already contributed at least one transaction in Guyana…that’s a phenomenal success rate,” the minister said.
Head of the British Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, Faizal Khan was also keen to highlight the growing importance of the Guyana-UK trade relations. For last year, he noted that trade between the two nations amounted to $1.6 Billion. “This is no small feat. And I believe that puts the UK as the leading trade partner in the Caribbean,” Khan said.
Guyana Standard understands that several meetings are planned for scoping possible collaborative opportunities with the over 900-membership of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
The trade mission is expected to wrap up talks on December 1.
