Guyana to attend several high-level meetings
DPI, GUYANA, Monday, January 29, 2018.
Guyana’s attendance at several international meetings and conferences has been approved by the Cabinet. This was disclosed by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at a post-Cabinet press briefing Friday last.
The country will be represented at the Inter-Governmental Negotiations on the Global Compact for Migration to be held in New York, USA at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters between February 20-23, 2018. It will address issues surrounding migration, diaspora affairs, and refugee status.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon
Head of the Diaspora Unit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Michael Brotherson will attend.
Director of Youth within the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, Melissa Carmichael will be representing Guyana at the 7th Annual Youth Forum of the Economic and Social Council of the UN to be convened at its Headquarters from January 30-31, 2018.
This forum will provide a platform for young people to engage in dialogue with member states and share ideas on innovation and collective action in response to global challenges to youth development and resilience.
Deputy Commissioner, Lancelot Wills and Head of the Information Technology Department, Sassy Jones, both of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), will participate in the Global Cross-Border E-Commerce Conference to be held in Beijing, China from February 9-10, 2018.
The conference will focus on addressing emerging challenges presented by cross-border e-commerce and discuss ways of utilising opportunities.
Approval was granted for attendance at the Biennial Conference of the Network for Environmental Regulators across New Zealand and Australia to be held in Sydney, Australia from February 14-16, 2018.
This year’s conference will bring together environmental regulators, service providers, researchers and policy-makers to share their knowledge and expertise.
Guyana’s attendance will assist in developing new tools and approaches for environmental regulators, environmental regulatory practices in light of the critical nature of environmental issues in the development of the ‘green economy.’
Executive Director (ag), Kemraj Parsram and Legal Advisor, Amina McPherson-Damon of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are attending.
In addition, Guyana benefitted from participation at the Caribbean Telecommunications Union Twenty-First Century Summit and Symposium held in Antigua and Barbuda from January 16-19, 2018.
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes represented Guyana at the summit which marked the first step towards the region’s determination to create a single Information and Communication Technology (ICT) space, which was proposed during a meeting of Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in March 2017.
Participation in this Summit, the State Minister noted, “allowed Guyana to further its ability to develop its Wide Area Network and access various applications and processes for the delivery of digital government services.”
Guyana participated in the 11th Cohort of the Caribbean Leadership Development Programme which was held in Grenada from January 22- 26, 2018.
Minister Harmon said the ongoing programme continues to provide training to the next generation of Caribbean leaders to contribute more effectively to regional integration and economic growth.
The Principal Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Public Security was Guyana’s representative at the event.
By: Stacy Carmichael