Outgoing Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Pierre Giroux said that the increase in technical and economic cooperation between Guyana and Canada is proof of the strong relationship that the two countries share.
According to a government release, the High Commissioner made these remarks during a farewell courtesy call, which he paid to President David Granger at State House today (Monday).
“In the last two years what we have really developed is more economic cooperation. Canadian companies are investing and interested in your markets… We also have good political dialogue and we have good technical cooperation in which technical assistance is actually supporting activities in this country. So if I do an assessment I would say it been a very successful two years,” he said.
Speaking on the level of interest that Canadian companies have shown in the local extractive sector, Mr. Giroux noted that even the decline in the price of gold has not deterred investors. In fact, he said that Canadian investment in the mining sector has increased considerably in the last two years. “We now have several other companies, [which] are now doing exploration beyond gold so the traditional investment of Guyana in the extractive sector has been reinforced” he said.
Meanwhile, President Granger spoke highly of Canada’s relationship with the region as a whole and noted that given the size of the Guyanese diaspora in Canada, there is much more scope for deeper engagement and cooperation.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency, he also expressed his Administration’s gratitude to the High Commissioner for the work he has undertaken in Guyana during his tour of duty and asked him to convey to his successor, that the Government of Guyana is ready and willing to continue the work of strengthening relations between the two nations.
High Commissioner Giroux, who also served as Canadian High Commissioner to Suriname and Canada’s Representative to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), presented his Letters of Credence to President Granger in August 2015. He is scheduled to depart Guyana on Friday and his successor is slated to arrive in September.
