Bilateral economic relations between Guyana and Mexico will be further deepened with the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce that will focus on fostering ties between businesses from the two nations.
This announcement was made by Mexican Ambassador to Guyana, Mauricio Vizcaíno–Crespo, during a reception held in Georgetown on Thursday evening to celebrate the 214th Independence anniversary of Mexico.
According to Ambassador Vizcaíno–Crespo, bilateral economic ties between Guyana and Mexico became stronger and deeper in the last two years and will further advance with the setting up of the Chamber of Commerce later this year.
“We already registered the Mexico-Guyana Chamber of Commerce, which we hope to launch into full operations before the end of the year,” he disclosed.
The Mexican diplomat added that, “Companies and entrepreneurs from both countries have kept discovering each other and finding ideal spaces to do business and generate joint value thanks to the continuous support of the Guyanese Government and institutions.”
Ambassador Vizcaíno–Crespo noted that the establishment of the Mexico-Guyana Chamber of Commerce was one of the outcomes of the first-ever Guyanese trade mission to Mexico City and Guadalajara which yielded outstanding success.
Similarly, several Mexican companies visited Guyana on an inaugural trade mission in October last year to explore investment and partnership opportunities here. During the visit, the mission engaged in several business-to-business meetings with the local private sector and also met with several senior government officials including Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, who reiterated Guyana’s willingness to collaborate with investors across numerous areas of development, including through education and infrastructure.
The discussions had also focused on strengthening bilateral relations between Guyana and Mexico, including the consideration of a visa waiver programme that aims to increase people-to-people interactions and foster expanded relations between the two nations.
According to President Dr Irfaan Ali, during Thursday’s reception, Guyana and Mexico have developed strong bonds of friendship and cooperation, which have been further advanced since Ambassador Vizcaíno–Crespo’s arrival in Georgetown back in January 2023.
He underscored the need to build on existing years of cooperation to increase the interactions between the two countries, especially in the private sector.
“Our two countries share a mutual interest in advancing our bilateral relations and strengthening our partnership. To this end, we were pleased to welcome the visit by several Mexican companies last year on their first trade mission to explore investment and partnership opportunities in our country. We fervently hope that this initiative engagement has set the foundation for fruitful and beneficial private sector cooperation between Guyana and Mexico,” the Head of State noted during his remarks.
Mexico is already contributing to Guyana’s capacity building with assistance in Spanish language learning here as well as marine education and training. As Guyana and Mexico continue to engage on issues of common interest, President Ali believes there is scope for more to be done by the two countries, especially at the regional level.
“Guyana looks forward, in this regard, to the next CARICOM-Mexico Summit, which we anticipate will accelerate the level of cooperation and collaboration between Mexico and our Caribbean Community (CARICOM). There is much that can be done between our two sides to address priority areas of concern including sustainable agriculture and food security, energy security and addressing the negative effects of climate change,” the Head of State noted.
With Guyana leading the Caricom’s food security initiative – 25 by 2025, that is, reducing the community’s food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025, President Ali welcomes Mexico as a partner in these efforts to retool the Caribbean’s agri-food sector and boost the production of quality food at affordable prices.
Moreover, the Guyanese Leader went on to highlight Guyana and Mexico’s shared commitment to the adherence to international law, respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the quest for peace and progress across this region and hemisphere.
“In a prevailing international environment where peace and security remain key concerns, we in this hemisphere have managed to maintain peace and stability through the workings of regional mechanisms along with individual and collective efforts. We can never understate the importance of our total commitment to democratic principles and democracy and the rule of law.”
“Buttressed by our shared values, we must continue in our endeavour to address the threats to peace and security, sustainable development and the fulfillment of the highest aspirations of our people to a life of freedom and dignity. In this regard, Guyana recognises that combatting organised crime, strengthening citizens security and maintaining Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace remain matters of the highest priority of our two countries,” President Ali.
Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips and other Cabinet ministers, senior government officials, Opposition Members and members of the local Diplomatic Community were among the other invitees at Thursday reception held at the Marriott Hotel. Guyana and Mexico established bilateral relations 51 years ago.
