Special team to promote Guyana-Trinidad trade, investment
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, (CANA) - The governments of Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago have decided to establish a special working committee to promote better trade and investment cooperation between the two Caribbean Community states. In making this announcement at a press briefing here, Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo said the committee, which will include private sector representatives, should meet within "a few weeks". The Guyanese head of state said this initiative resulted from bilateral talks he held with current CARICOM chairman Prime Minister Basdeo Panday following what he described as "rather unfortunate and misleading" reports attributed to Trinidad and Tobago's Trade and Industry Minister Mervyn Assam about the quality and reliability of Guyana's rice shipments to the twin-island state. Jagdeo, attending the two-day special meeting of CARICOM heads of government due to wind up last night at the Chaguaramas Convention Centre, said it was imperative that all efforts be made by CARICOM countries to speedily remove problems that affect free trade and investment in the region. "If not", he said, "we will all eventually be the losers". He extended what he called "an open invitation" not just to Trinidadian and other investors to check out opportunities to do business, but also the region's media "to see how fundamentally things have changed in our country from what existed in the past and the wrong image that seems to persist abroad". He also answered questions on the political situation in Guyana and specifically the inter-party dialogue process between the governing People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/Civic) and the main opposition People's National Congress (PNC) of Mr. Desmond Hoyte. Mr. Jagdeo said that so far as he was aware the government remained committed to honouring the provisions of the 'Herdmanston Accord' as originally brokered by a CARICOM mission to Georgetown following the December 1997 elections. Personally, he added, he continued to be "optimistic" about the country's future stability and progress even though a meeting was yet to take place between himself and the PNC leader. President Jagdeo said he was "optimistic" because the Guyanese people in general were "absolutely fed up" with so much of the negative politics and simply "want to move on with their lives..." "I have gone around the country since I have been appointed President, including areas that are supportive of the PNC, areas that are supportive of the PPP, and the mood is a totally different one...People are fed up with the political posturings. "And I think you are going to see this reflected in the coming election results..." He was encouraged with, and in turn encouraging more private sector positive involvement in the process for change and said he expects this to expand in the months ahead. Declaring that he remained committed to an "open-ended discussion" with the leader of the PNC, Jagdeo, nevertheless, stressed that he was not waiting around for such a meeting to take place and was engaged in discussions with representatives of other parties, the business community and civil society.
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