Chile signals interest in telecoms

Oct 27, 2016 News

President David Granger has described his official state visit to Chile and meeting with President Michelle Bachelet as highly successful and one that needed to happen. Not only does it open the door to deepened

President David Granger exchanges a hand shake with Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Mr. Pedro Huichalaf following their meeting.

cooperation between the two countries but it solidifies linkages between Chile and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), he said.
Speaking after the last day of sectoral bilateral meetings in the areas of trade, mining, telecommunications and management of maritime zones, the Head of State said, “It is a strong statement on South American cooperation and it is a strong statement on Chile’s engagement with the Caribbean Community” adding that “it is not only good for Guyana [but also] good for hemispheric relations.”
With Guyana aiming to advance the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, following the passage of the Telecommunications Bill, Bill No. 15 of 2016, Government is keen to learn from Chile, which has what is described as one of the most developed telecommunications sectors in Latin America, according to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency.
President Granger and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, who accompanied the President on the visit, met on Monday with Under Secretary of Telecommunications, Pedro Huichalaf, at the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications.
Minister Greenidge said that Government is currently in negotiation with the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited (GTT) to bring an end to the monopoly in the sector in keeping with the new legal framework, and open the way for wider investment in the sector, but the regulatory framework has to be enhanced.
“They have to look carefully at their telecoms framework. They have to take decisions about bandwidth. They have to see whether the Public Utilities Commission, which new legislation has been passed on and the telecoms authority for which legislation has been passed, whether those are adequately structured and staffed and whether the mandate covers all that could be expected of it and the people within the agencies perhaps need to have the benefit of some exchange experience with those in the sector,” he said.
Chile, the Minister reported, has offered to provide technical assistance for the strengthening of the capacity of Ministry of Public Telecommunications as well as the PUC to ensure efficient and seamless implementation.
Trade
Minister Greenidge also indicted that he discussed bilateral trade and investment with his Chilean counterpart and indicated that opportunities for technical cooperation were offered in the areas of trade. He added, “We discussed investment and how best we might encourage Chilean investors with capital to look at Guyana to see what opportunities there are.”
The assessment on the Chilean side is that Chilean investors do not really know enough about Guyana to make a judgment. It was the view that the first step ought to be, apart from the provision of general information, to arrange for private sector [engagement].
As follow up actions on all of the areas discussed, the relevant subject Ministries will advance collaborations and follow up on offers of support.
Part of the state visit included a trip by the Guyanese delegation to Neruda’s house in Valparaiso.
The house was home to Chilean poet and Nobel prize winner Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, who was best known by his pen name Pablo Neruda. The delegation from Guyana to Chile included, in addition to the President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director General, Ambassador Audrey Jardine-Waddell; Desk Officer of Guyana/Chile Bilateral Relations, Ms. Sondra Cheong and Political Advisor to the President, Mr. William Cox.