UAE support likely for refurbishing of G/Town City Hall
Minister of Social Cohesion, Monday, August 6, 2018
The Honourable Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Norton today met with a representative from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss partnership between Guyana and the seven-country federation.
Mr. Abdelrahman Abdulla Almaazmi, Second Secretary of the Embassy of the UAE in Brazil, said that the UAE is interested in assisting Guyana to restore any one of its heritage sites.
Also present at the meeting, was the Chief Executive Officer of the National Trust of Guyana, Ms. Nirvana Persaud, who used the opportunity to enlighten Mr. Abdulla about the condition of the Georgetown City Hall.
Following a PowerPoint presentation of the Comprehensive Restoration and Sustainable Conservation Management Plan for City Hall, Mr. Abdulla seemed intrigued.
The Diplomat said that he will be discussing, with his superiors, the possibility of the UAE funding the US$4.3M restoration; this assistance he said, is likely.
Mr. Abdulla noted too that the UAE is very interested in collaborating with Guyana in the area of culture and creative arts. He reminded that scenes from the hit film – ‘Sex and The City 2’ were shot parts of Abu Dhabi, and that this was a tourism boost for that country.
“Many people were coming there just to visit the scenes where that movie was shot, so that generated much income from tourism, and we can work towards creating a similar situation for Guyana,” Mr. Abdullah said.
Minister Norton expressed gratitude and appreciation towards member states of the UAE for their interest in assisting Guyana.
“We appreciate this meeting, and we want to do all that we can to strengthen partnerships with the UAE. Our Georgetown City Hall is in a deplorable condition, and it needs repairs as soon as possible. We would really welcome the UAE’s assistance in this regard,” Dr. Norton said.
Also present at today’s meeting which took place in the boardroom of the Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sport, was the Permanent Secretary (ag) Ms. Melissa Tucker; Director of Culture, Ms. Tamika Boatswain; Coordinator of the National School of Music, Mr. Andrew Tyndall; Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Trust of Guyana, Mr. Lennox Hernandez; and Foreign Service Officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Natala Anderson.
After the Meeting, Minister Norton presented Mr. Abdullah with a softcopy of the Comprehensive Restoration and Sustainable Conservation Management Plan for City Hall, as well as a folder containing articles about Guyana’s history and heritage.