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British top diplomat urges speedy security reform
– taps global food market opportunities
British High Commissioner to Guyana, Fraser Wheeler, is urging the country to take advantage of the global food shortage and speed up its reform of the security sector.
The diplomat, making the remarks at the 16th Annual General Meeting of the Private Sector Commission at the Hotel Tower on Thursday, noted that food security is a major concern globally to policy makers, a preoccupation that is unlikely to end soon.
With Guyana a major player with exciting possibilities in the agriculture sector, the British Government is willing to continue backing an agricultural diversification drive that has been undertaken by Government.
Next week, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, will be leading a team to the United Kingdom to woo investors in this sector.
Wheeler, speaking to the group of top business personalities, alluded to several small economies that used prevailing global trends to quickly develop its infrastructure.
Singapore was one such country where the government between 1980 and 2006, recognized the need to expand and invest its services industry. It quickly developed its research and bio-technology capabilities, leading to substantial growth.
Dubai was another example. It built its economy into a high-end destination of choice for financial services, tourism, and entertainment.
In the case of Mauritius, Wheeler said, in 1968 the economy was heavily dependent on sugar but policy makers homed in on the global trends, building several competitive industries.
The country used its preferential market for sugar and political stability and maintenance of pristine beaches to brand itself as a top tourism destination and off-shore banking.
Closer to home, Costa Rica saw the need to invest in the eco-tourism sector and a hungry market for information technology. Major investments in these two areas led to contracts from, among others, Intel, a manufacturing company for brand name computer processors.
With Guyana’s proximity to neighbouring Brazil whose economy is growing, there are huge possibilities of cutting that country’s access to North America by as much as four days.
Another key advantage of Guyana is that it is the only English-speaking country in South America and its time zones mesh with that of the US, making it a ready investment target for the call center market.
In the areas of energy security, Guyana, while being heavily dependent on imported oil to meet its demands making it vulnerable, has the medium term possibilities for hydro-power and bio-fuel development and tapping into possible off-shore oil and gas.
Bolstering his case for Guyana’s need to focus on the global trends, the British High Commissioner pointed to the fact that there are indications of an increasing organised crime and there is an urgent need to reform the security sector to tackle this growing threat.
With President Bharrat Jagdeo aware of these opportunities, the official disclosed that his country is working closely with Guyana to develop plans for large scale investments.
While it will not be an easy road for Guyana to grasp the opportunities, Wheeler was convinced that the time is right for the country to grasp the opportunity of change.
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