General News

The Guyanese Head of State made this assertion during his address to a Special Sitting of Saint Lucia’s Parliament this morning.

During his speech, the President underscored several ways the two countries can expand cooperation and deepen bilateral relations.

President Ali is on a two-day visit to the island at the invitation of Prime Minister Philip Pierre to celebrate Saint Lucia’s 45th Independence Anniversary.

As a special guest, the Guyanese Head of State will deliver a speech at St Lucia's Parliament later today.

He is also expected to interact with St Lucia’s private sector.

Discussions focused on deepening bilateral relations between the two countries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Honourable Hugh Todd and Permanent Secretary, Mrs Elisabeth Harper, were also part of the meeting.

Guyana and the Kingdom of Belgium established diplomatic relations on June 10, 1971

The meeting centred around exploring potential investment opportunities between Guyana and Ireland, particularly given Guyana's potential to emerge as a leading global player in the domains of food, energy, and climate security. During the meeting discussions also included the possibility of collaboration in healthcare and human resource development.

The Head of State was joined by Vice President, the Honourable Dr Bharrat Jagdeo and Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh.

Senior Economist in the IMF's Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, Chad Steinberg; Executive Director for Guyana and Brazil Afonso Bevilaqua along with Mission Chief Alina Carare and Alternate Executive Director Reshma Mahabir were a part of the meeting.

The Head of State called for enhanced bilateral cooperation between the two countries while indicating his desire for the Republic of Türkiye (Turkey) to support the building of the manufacturing sector in Guyana.

He lauded Turkey’s technological drive and noted that Guyana can benefit from its continuous development.

Turkey has over 80 technoparks where around 6,000 national and multinational companies engage in research and development (R&D) activities.

Guyana and Turkey established diplomatic relations on May 2, 1973.

During the meeting, President Ali informed Ms Bechdol of Guyana’s expansive and robust development of the agriculture sector, especially its focus on leveraging technology and prioritising women and youths.

The discussions centred on the enhanced partnership between Guyana and the FAO to complement the country's drive to maintain and expand its role in agriculture and food security in the region.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Honourable Hugh Todd and Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud were also part of the meeting.

While chairing the special council meeting today, the Guyanese Head of State emphasised that these issues are intricately linked to the rule of law, democracy and governance.

“We, therefore, are of the very strong view that the Security Council should outline a series of steps that include a full analysis of the impact, and just as we adopt measures to safeguard humanitarian interests, we must adopt measures in our procedures to deal with the effects on food and climate.”

Joint Communique

Discussions focused on expanding and enhancing the current bilateral partnership between the two countries, especially as it relates to enhancing private-sector collaboration.

As Chair of CARICOM, President Ali committed to supporting the Dominican Republic’s application for an associate member position of the regional body.

He said that the sophistication of the Dominican Republic’s private sector allows for greater integration in opportunities emerging from the Caribbean Community, including areas of transport and logistics and agro-processing.