Minister Singh meets with French Government officials

On Friday 23 June, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Hon. Ashni Singh, held bilateral meetings with officials from the French Ministry of the Economy. This followed the Minister’s attendance at the “Global Summit for a new Global Financial Pact” which was convened in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Minister Singh’s interactions with the French Government officials covered a range of issues – including deeper government-to-government relations, as part of the Government of Guyana’s overall strategy to expand relations with member state governments within the European Union.

The Minister and the French officials also discussed improving private sector opportunities for French companies in Guyana, as well as partnerships between the two Governments on climate action and biodiversity. They discussed Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy and President Macron’s emphasis on the global agenda to preserve rainforests and biodiversity.

Speaking after the meetings, Minister Singh said: “I emphasised that Guyana is open for business and that we welcome high quality private investment and private companies from all countries. I outlined our pro-business policies and highlighted that one of the biggest private sector employees in Guyana – Teleperformance – is French. We agreed that diplomatic, trade and business links between our countries can continue to deepen and strengthen – especially now that Guyana is an increasingly visible participant in global marketplaces.”

Minister Singh’s meeting followed a recent mission to Guyana by several French companies and the Minister commended the efforts of French officials who have been working to strengthen such business interactions as well as broader bilateral relations. The Minister encouraged further scaling up of French diplomatic presence in Guyana.