President Dr Irfaan Ali recently accepted the Letters of Credence from the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Guyana, HE Walter Oostelbos at the Office of the President on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the processing of Schengen visas in Guyana.
The President told the Ambassador that one of the biggest hindrances of doing business between Guyana and the European Union (EU) is the visa processing procedure that requires Guyanese to travel to Suriname.
This, he said, can be remedied if the same service provided in Suriname, can be provided in Guyana.
The President also noted that the two countries can leverage their partnership in key areas including agro-processing, food production and air transport.
Earlier this year, it was reported that five EU countries have agreed to sponsor Guyana’s bid for Schengen visa-free travel.
In addition to obtaining visa-free travel status, President Ali previously noted that Guyana is working on having the Schengen visas processed more efficiently in Guyana. This, he had explained, is an immediate need, and Guyana has received strong commitments from “at least three countries that are willing to work with us on having this done”.
President Ali had initial discussions on Schengen visa-free travel during his recent attendance at the European Union-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) Summit 2023 in Brussels, Belgium.
Specifically, he held such talks with Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon.
It has been reported that a pressing issue for Guyana in its relations with Europe is the setting up of a local Schengen visa processing office.
For some time, concern has been expressed that visas for Guyanese to travel to the EU still have to be processed in Suriname at the Netherlands Embassy. Former EU Ambassador to Guyana, Fernando Ponz Cantó had told this publication that the request for an office in Guyana to process visa requests to Europe was a reasonable one and was, in fact, being addressed by the EU.
He had cautioned, however, that the granting of Schengen visas was subject to individual member countries, and not to the EU as a whole. As such, he noted that the EU did not have the power to grant the visas. Cantó had also expressed the hope that visa-free travel could be facilitated at some point in the future.
In the absence of visa-free access, the Schengen visa would entitle non-Europeans to travel to Slovenia and any of the other 26 Schengen countries, including Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland – for a stay of up to 90 days.
Most notably, Guyanese enjoy visa-free access to a few European countries already, including the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, Russia and Kosovo.
This matter of easier travel is even more important now as Guyana and the EU seek to deepen economic ties, with the recent launch of the EU Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, for which former Digicel Guyana Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gregory Dean is the chairman.
It has been reported that from January 2017 to September 2023, total trade between Guyana and the European Union stood at approximately US$11 billion. It has increased ‘steadily’ in the past five years, with an average annual growth of 20 per cent.
