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Guyana collects US$45M final payment from Norway
– country seeks new deal
The Kingdom of Norway has released $393.4M Norwegian Kroner or $9.1B (US$45M) to the Guyana REDD+ Investment Fund, administered by the World Bank for disbursement to Guyana for approved projects.
Dr. Marlon Bristol
It will represent the final payment of the US$250M forest deal Guyana struck with Norway back in 2009.
Guyana is now talking with Norway about a new deal.
This was confirmed yesterday by the Head of the Project Management Office of the Ministry of the Presidency, Dr. Marlon Bristol.
According to the Ministry in a statement, Bristol noted that the release of funds was made last Wednesday to the World Bank.
The World Bank issued a confirmation yesterday that the funds have been received.
Dr. Bristol noted that the funds will be used for projects in areas such as renewable energy, ‘green’ tourism, biodiversity, strengthening of indigenous mechanisms, and the European Union- FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Partnership, which is a legally binding trade agreement between the European Union and a timber-producing country outside the EU.
Guyana has collected the final payment from Norway.
He further noted that Guyana will also enter a new round of talks with the Norwegians to support President David Granger’s Green State Development Strategy (GSDS) and especially those environmental safeguards that can realise a ‘green’ economy.
“These fruitful developments are possible owing to the hard work of several Ministers and especially, the Minister of State under whose purview the Guyana REDD+ Investment (GRIF) falls under; other Government agencies, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), indigenous peoples’ representation among others.
A special thank you to the Kingdom of Norway. Project development can now move ahead assiduously for the full realisation of long-awaited benefits to the Guyanese people. From a slow start and a past of penalty to the tune of US$15 million before this Government took office, the Guyana Norway Agreement can now boast of satisfactory results,” he said.
The transfer has been made possible following a meeting between Minister of State, Mrs. Dawn Hastings-Williams and Norway’s Minister for Climate and Environment, Mr. Ola Elvestuen, back in September on the margins of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York.
During that meeting, Norway had agreed to pay over the $393.4 Norwegian Kroner or approximately US$50M of climate funds to Guyana, which authorities said represents the remainder of the pledge made by that country back in 2009.
In accordance with the bilateral agreement between the two countries, the two ministers had agreed that Guyana has met its commitments and therefore Norway would disburse all final payments.
Minister Hastings-Williams acknowledged that at this juncture both countries indeed would have met their responsibilities with the final release.
The 2009 deal under the last Bharrat Jagdeo administration was a groundbreaking one which Guyana was supposed to reduce its deforestation rate, meeting a number of set benchmarks.
Guyana lost about US$20M of the US$250M not meeting a number of requirements.
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