– says political comfort needs to translate to business comfort
By Rupa Seenaraine
A new sense of possibilities at the leadership level has been unravelled as Guyana and India create political cohesion that allows for an exchange of business and investment opportunities.
Sharing this standpoint was visiting External Affairs Minister of India, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at an India-Guyana Business Roundtable organised on Saturday at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre to strengthen and solidify the bond between both nations through business – one of the first in promoting economic partnership.
Dr Jaishankar underscored that is not just a normal business dialogue but rather one where the fastest-growing economy meets the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
“There is an enormous change actually taking place in both our economies and our societies. And the challenge for policymakers like us is how do we see that as an opportunity, how do we actually find that connects, the touch points and viability in the business case to make the best of it,” he zeroed in.
It follows closer bilateral ties after the visit of President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo in January and February, respectively.
“What was still perhaps a year ago, a smooth, non-controversial, friendly, pleasant, even business-like relationship was suddenly infused by a great sense of energy, a new sense of possibilities that connect at a leadership level, which encouraged so many of us to travel here.”
“As Guyana enters a new era. As it embarks on this very exciting journey on its quest for prosperity and development, there is a possibility that is with strong interest on India’s part to be a partner in this journey,” he posited.
Business comfort
In building a stable foundation, Jaishankar spoke on diversification rather than being exposed to just a single domain. He mentioned the existence of political comfort but the need for business comfort to be fortified.
“We have the political comfort. That I can assure you. What we need today is the political comfort to translate itself into greater business and that business comfort will only happen by doing business.”
According to the External Affairs Minister, India also views Guyana’s position at the centre of a regional hub as instrumental.
“The Government of India has actually consciously embarked on a policy of envisioning a global workplace that our efforts have been known to facilitate the mobility of Indians wherever there is a market demand, to strengthen businesses across the world,” Dr Jaishankar emphasized.
During initial talks, President Ali and Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had agreed to explore areas of energy, health, pharmaceuticals, capacity building, agriculture, technology and innovation, defence, and infrastructure, among others.
“Even as we hold our discussions and identify new opportunities, it’s also a matter of satisfaction for us that we are actually seeing a pickup in numbers.”
Confidence
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd lauded these engagements as a reflection of proper inter-state policies.
“When you have policymakers and Heads of State working towards the upliftment of the people and understanding the way the world works, this is what it should look like. We have two nation-states, one from the East and one from the West, coming together through the forces of globalisation. So, we are taking a very small economy and connecting with now the world’s most populated economy – an economy that is big on endogenous growth,” Todd expressed.
“We’ve long argued that we also want to focus on the leadership provided by emerging from the developing world and India provides us with a very perfect example…It is a shining example of the way in which it was able to incentivise the private sector, becoming a technology hub of the world, exporting a lot of its human capital to the rest of the world,” he added.
At the political level, Todd said Guyana has done a lot to establish confidence and predictability, and assured that the business environment is a very fair one.
In this light, he told the business community, “It’s your turn to figure out what will work, what will not work, what strategies you should employ…The landscape has been provided because there’s access…We’re working on ensuring that we have the right instruments that will allow for seamless flow.”
Todd emphasised that work will continue at the policy level to ensure proactivity in responding to the needs of investors and ensuring there is interconnectedness between policymakers and business leaders.
