Guyanese benefit from port security training

On Friday, 12 Guyanese received certification on good practices in port security.

The workshop training venture was held remotely in October 2021, jointly organised by the Embassy of Chile in Guyana and the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine.

 Speaking at the simple certification award, Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill commended the relationship between Guyana and Chile. He also outlined to the beneficiaries how important the knowledge gained from the programme will contribute to Guyana’s development.

“The face of Guyana is changing, maritime administration, port security. shipping, the movement of goods and ensuring adequate control at all of our terminals is not something to be discussed in the future, it is something that we are behind time on and we have to play catch up,” he said.

The training, he said, is also important, as Guyana will play a critical role in reducing CARICOM’s food import bill.

“This is not just because of oil and gas. Oil and gas make it relevant because of the volume and the increase in traffic, but if you’re listening to the vision and where we’re going, Guyana would play a leading role in reducing CARICOM’s import food bill by 25 per cent by 2025,” he noted.

Director General of Maritime Administration, Stephen Thomas, said the training will help to place Guyana in line with security protocols.

“It’s very important that they have their security protocols and practices fully in tune. So, we in Guyana and particularly maritime administration, given our obligation and responsibility for our port security, we surely cherish moments like these…It helps us to put Guyana on the right footing so to speak, so that our trade would not be impeded with our major trading partners,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chilean Ambassador to Guyana, H.E Juan Manuel Pino Vasquez told the beneficiaries that the instructors from Chile were very impressed with the efforts made by the locals during the training sessions.

Mr. Romain Seurattan, a beneficiary of the training shared his experience and how it would benefit his operations in his field of work.

“This course gave us the knowledge that would enlighten us to implement these procedures and in return have safe and practical port operations,” he said.

Minister Edghill said officers could travel to Chile to get on the ground training to benefit further in this area.