Oil and gas co-operation will be one of the items on the agenda when Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro makes an official visit to Guyana later this month.
A release from the Office of the President said that Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali and Bolsonaro communicated via teleconference yesterday on the agenda for the expected visit.
“We have a number of important issues and opportunities for both Guyana and Brazil that I wanted to highlight even before our meeting, so our technical teams can start some work”, Ali said.
He listed several areas that are critical for both countries to move their relationship forward, including energy and food security, telecommunication, infrastructure integration and trade.
Ali also pointed out that due to their geographical locations, the two countries must make strong statements in linking their territories.
The Guyanese Head of State said that in addition to oil and gas, expanding opportunities in the natural resources sector such as bauxite will create an opportunity for a direct link to northern Brazil and the Atlantic that can “create an excellent platform for us to develop an integrated project”.
As it relates to trade, the release noted that there is an existing partial scope agreement that aims to foster bilateral trade flows by the exchange of tariff preferences between the two countries, cooperation on trade matters and increased participation of the private sector.
This, President Ali noted, is currently under negotiation for expansion since Guyana wants to increase its quota, especially as it relates to rice being exported to Brazil.
The release said that President Bolsonaro, via an interpreter, said that the agenda for discussion looks “very promising” and that he will ensure that technical staff from the relevant ministries in Brazil travel for the state visit.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Hugh Todd and others were in attendance at the Office of the President for the teleconference.
