Guyana becoming land of opportunities

Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Guyana, Didier Chassot meeting with President David Granger.

Guyana is becoming ‘the land of opportunities’ according to the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Guyana, Didier Chassot.

Speaking on Tuesday, following a meeting with President David  Granger, the Swiss Ambassador noted that with the development of an oil and gas sector and the pursuit of the Green State Development Strategy, the nation is an attractive destination for investment, according to a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP).

The non-resident Ambassador, who is based in Venezuela, was also in Guyana to explore and expand on areas of collaboration between the two countries, as well as to seek opportunities for investment for Swiss and Guyanese investors in both countries.   “We… know that Guyana is going through or about to go through a transformative period thanks to the oil findings and this could have a tremendous impact on the whole country and Guyana is becoming a land of opportunities so we are also very keen to develop the cooperation on the economic aspect.

This morning, I had a meeting with GO-Invest [Guyana Office for Investment] precisely to have a briefing on what the opportunities would be for Swiss investors and for the business community to come to Switzerland. Very recently, an agreement on the promotion and protection of the investments between Guyana and Switzerland came into effect so this gives the business communities in Guyana and Switzerland a good legal framework so we want to develop the cooperation,” the Ambassador was quoted as saying in the statement.

Chassot also noted that Switzerland acknowledges the efforts Guyana has been making in its pursuit of ‘green’ development, according to the MoTP release. During a meeting between President Granger and former President of the Swiss Confederation, Doris Leuthard on the side-lines of the Minamata Convention on Mercury in Geneva in 2017, strengthening of the cooperation between the two countries in matters of the environment were discussed. In this regard, the Swiss Ambassador said that the country looks forward to the transfer of its expertise and experiences to Guyana as it has a common ‘green’ vision to combat the effects of climate change and global warming and create a more sustainable planet.   “We are trying to build on this exchange. We identified several areas of possible cooperation. We know of the commitment of Guyana and the President himself, with regard to the environment and its protection, the ‘green’ economy and we believe that there is ground for cooperation and exchange of expertise. Certainly, there is expertise and experience we can share and I am sure we can be able to develop something concrete on a bilateral level,” the Ambassador was quoted as saying in the press statement.