Reminding that in the past, Guyanese have enjoyed Visa-free travel to England, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) says it is lobbying for the return of this arrangement, especially in light of the increased business activities which are slated to take place between the two nations.
GCCI President Timothy Tucker recently told INews that his organisation “continues to lobby for the removal of Visa requirements to England.”
The latest advocacy was done on October 4 when the GCCI met with new British High Commissioner to Guyana Jane Miller.
“We’ve lobbied for the re-institution of issuing of Visas in Georgetown, barring that there’s no Visa lifting, because we know up to 1992, it wasn’t a requirement for a Visa to go to England, you could’ve gone there with your Guyanese passport. After 1992, when we got back free and fair elections, a Visa requirement was reinstituted,” Tucker explained.
Meanwhile, Tucker highlighted that with the development of Guyana’s economy, the GCCI finds it necessary to ask for such barriers be removed in order to strengthen the relations between the two countries.
“Being part of the Commonwealth, we find it necessary, especially on the new windfall of Guyana, the higher movement of Guyana from a low-income to upper middle-income country, we believe that it’s the time that these barriers and hurdles be removed and more embracement of the two countries happen.”
Apart from this, the GCCI Head explained that the business organisation has been engaging with the British diplomat on a number of other sectors.
“In our discussions, we discussed how we could build capacity in the local, private sector through training through access to training courses, access to cooperation, a better trade relation between the two countries, how Guyanese products can enter the UK market, how Guyanese can tap into the West Indian and Caribbean market in London, how we can have direct flights from Georgetown to London, how we can have direct shipping from Georgetown to London,” Tucker surmised.
““I’ve also stressed that it’s very important that we have a better relationship with Great Britain in terms of the tourism sector, how do we get them to access our markets, how do we go to London as a tourist destination as well,” he added.
