The India-Guyana Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) was on Saturday formed, thus paving the way for the facilitation of trade, investment, and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
At a business roundtable at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre, which was attended by Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, former West Indies cricketer Ramnaresh Sarwan was named the President of the newly established IGCC.
Also elected to serve on the body were Azad Ibrahim as Vice President; Steven Jacobs and David Fernandes as Senior Vice Presidents; Saju Bhaskar, Secretary; Shaleeza Shaw, Treasurer; and Sreebala Kumar, Joint Secretary.
This new organisation is an initiative between Guyana’s private sector and India through the impetus of the Indian High Commission. The need for this Chamber was identified during a recent high-level visit to India.
Now established, it is envisioned that partnerships will be built through culture and commerce to serve the two nations through advocacy, culture, economic development, connectivity, business, and education.
However, also at the event, several agreements were exchanged. One was signed between United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) and the Agriculture Ministry, another between the Private Sector Commission and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) and CII. In addition, GO-Invest and Decipher Health Records also inked an agreement.
A Joint Business Council between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Private Sector Commission was also announced.
Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Dr Peter Ramsaroop underlined that they are getting ready for the next baseline and fulfilling the vision of a transformed Guyana.
“As we work together to make some of these relationships into new territories in energy and agriculture and manufacturing. The next big wave of Guyana as we bring our energy costs down by 50 per cent will be in the agro-processing and manufacturing sectors. Everything we have planned for in oil and gas is just the baseline. The next revolution in Guyana will be in the agro-processing and manufacturing sector,” he envisioned.
Linkages
Meanwhile, the Indian High Commissioner to Guyana, Dr KJ Srinivasa stated that new energy has been infused into their bilateral relations since President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo led respective delegations to India this year.
“India has been working very closely with Guyana on various fronts, as they say, the economy is the pillar on which relationships solidify. India’s collaboration with Guyana includes but is not limited to bilateral investments and trading energy, healthcare, machinery, pharmaceuticals, education etc. And it has been growing over the years and we see it not only in the spirit of South-South cooperation but also as an opportunity to enrich our partnership through human resource development, like skills and capacity building under the various scholarship schemes of the government of India,” the diplomat told the gathering.
Guyanese businesses, he added, which have visited India over the past few months have achieved huge successes, which augers well for the direction they are heading.
Leading the Indian delegation is the CEO of UPL Director, who lauded commitment from both sides to establish business linkages, as India seeks to establish its presence in this part of the world.
“Let me take this opportunity to highlight some areas where we believe the potential for enhanced bilateral economic cooperation in the coming years. First, the recent discovery of oil and gas in Guyana. There is an immense scope of cooperation and collaboration between Guyana and India. Second, agriculture and food processing are important sectors that will ensure food security for the Region. This is also a key focus for the President of Guyana. Thirdly, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, IT, and education are other areas where we can benefit from. Lastly, tourism will be a huge potential for India,” Shroff detailed.
He noted that said they are seeking to also forge bilateral engagement that goes beyond trade, investment, and encompasses innovation and entrepreneurship, and sustainable governance.
Moving forward, there are also talks to have an annual India-Caricom Summit to facilitate exchanges and capacity building between parties.
