British Chamber of Commerce to be set up in Guyana

Ross Denny
Ross Denny

A British Chamber of Commerce is to be established in Guyana.

This is according to outgoing acting British High Commissioner to Guyana, Ross Denny.

An American Chamber of Commerce and a Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce have been established here in recent years.

Denny, according to a British High Commission statement, is due to depart for the UK on Monday at the end of his six-month assignment as UK envoy to Guyana, and concurrent Chargé d’Affaires to Suriname. Denny, who served as the UK’s Ambassador to Costa Rica and Nicaragua until late last year, was asked to cover the period between former High Commissioner Greg Quinn’s departure, and the appointment and arrival of the new substantive High Commissioner, Jane Miller who is scheduled to be in Georgetown shortly.

The UK envisaged a gap of six months and given the importance of the UK-Guyana bilateral relationship, felt it important to ensure that the UK continued to be represented at a senior level during this period.

The statement said that Denny now returns to the UK before taking up another appointment.

On his time in  Guyana he said “I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to spend some time in this beautiful and fascinating country, and at an important time in its history. I’ve been made to feel very welcome wherever I went. And I was fortunate to be able to visit several places in the hinterland where the UK is funding important projects, and of course to meet a wide range of people. I was a little surprised on my arrival to find that there was no British chamber of commerce, and set the creation of one as a high priority for my time. I’m delighted that this is now a reality.

“The Chamber will be  launched officially when Jane Miller arrives and has been accredited. It will be a  bilateral chamber, as much for the benefit of Guyanese businesses interested in developing trading links with the UK as it is for British businesses looking to trade with and invest in Guyana. My hope is that the presence of an active bilateral chamber will lead to even greater commercial activity between our two countries, for the benefit of both our peoples. The bilateral relationship is in great shape, with many shared interests and values. I wish my replacement every success in taking this forward.”