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President Bharrat Jagdeo today said during his recent visit to Venezuela, Guyana managed to extend the existing rice agreement which has thus far, been a very lucrative one, which saw 30,000 tonnes of paddy and 10,000 tonnes of white rice being exported to the neighbouring state.
The new agreement on the other hand, will see an exportation of 50,000 tonnes of paddy and 20,000 tonnes of white rice, which the President said will give farmers in Guyana some security that at least for the next year, there will be the availability of a ready market.
President Jagdeo also disclosed that the possibility of purchasing fertilizers such as urea was also looked at, as it is believed that it may be sourced at a cheaper rate in Venezuela.
Focus was also placed on the possibility of purchasing aviation fuel, which the President said that the Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL) will have to be directly involved in.
He explained that the reason for this is because Guyana pays twice as much for fuel than what is paid at the John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport. As such, since the country is seeking to establish its own national flag carrier airline, it will need to have access to cheaper fuel in order to stay competitive.
“This is one of the things we are hoping that by doing, we will also be making Guyana a more attractive place to have a home based carrier airline which is critical for future development of the tourism industry,” the Head of State said.
Additionally, Venezuela is producing tractors which the President said are of competitive rates and as such some may be sourced for Amerindian communities and for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
The President said that “we also said that we will become an observer of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), which would entitle us to increase the amount of oil that we receive from Venezuela through the PetroCaribe arrangement.”
He added that the border issue between the two countries was discussed and that both parties were happy that Norman Girvan is now the United Nations Secretary General’s Good Officer. Both countries have already named their facilitator.
The President added that he is happy that the discussions will be held within the context of the Good Officer’s process of the UN Secretary General.
Moreover, the President said that the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon has indicated that he is prepared to extend the stint of Girvan if its is required. |
