‘Urgently explore opportunities at home’ – Foreign Secretary tells Guyanese in T&T

Guyana is undergoing rapid development, requiring about 100,000 additional workers and key investments, and Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud says that Guyanese in the diaspora should urgently explore the opportunities here.

Recently, Persaud told members of the Guyanese diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) that the Guyanese economy is growing at a fast pace and both skilled and unskilled workers are needed to fill public and private sector jobs.

He said the Government of Guyana is trying to woo members of its diaspora to return by offering several incentives including tax concessions on personal effects such as vehicles and housing lots in Guyana.

A special appeal has, however, been made to Guyanese living in Trinidad because of the economic challenges being experienced by that country.

“… if any Guyanese diaspora living in TT feels disadvantaged, I wish to remind them that Guyana is their home with abundant opportunities.

“We encourage those with skills to urgently explore opportunities here,” the Foreign Secretary told the News Room.

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo recently pointed out that T&T’s economy has been faced with numerous challenges over the past few years due to limited economic diversification and dependence on a highly volatile sector- oil and gas.

The COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jagdeo acknowledged, contributed to worsening economic conditions.

Because of those challenges, Jagdeo said that the government is diligently attempting to avoid those pitfalls in the development of Guyana’s nascent oil and gas industry.

He also noted that Guyana remains open to partnering with T&T but emphasised that those partnerships must not sideline Guyanese or Guyanese-owned business

In a Facebook post, the Foreign Secretary echoed similar sentiments and defended the comments made by Jagdeo.

“VP Jagdeo never questioned the importance of close TT-Guyana ties nor our commitment to regional integration. What’s wrong with a leader making a factual observation about another country’s economic state, especially given the interdependence of our economies both at the bilateral and regional levels?

“If TT’s economy is such a bright star, WHY do we have close to 100 companies from TT in a desperate campaign to dominate our economic space at a rate unheard of in any CARICOM country?” the Foreign Secretary questioned.

And he highlighted that Guyana values its relationship with the Twin Island Republic and in fact, is willing to offer any advice that will help the country transcend its current economic conditions.

The help being offered is not limited to Guyanese living there.  In fact, in the recent T&T diaspora outreach, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha told investors that the new Local Content law was crafted to help Guyanese companies benefit from the new oil and gas industry but it does not lock out Caribbean investors.