Guyana has expressed a willingness to discuss and conclude the Joint Action Plan on the Promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative with China, as the visiting Caribbean leader is ending an official one-week visit to Beijing.
A joint communique issued Monday at the end of the official visit of President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali noted that the “Guyanese side applauded China’s proposals of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilisation Initiative”.
It said with “reference to the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation within the Framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Twenty First Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, signed between the two sides on July 27, 2018, the Guyana side expressed willingness to discuss and conclude the Joint Action Plan on Promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Chinese side”.
According to the communique, Ali “held in-depth discussions” with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest, and “expressing the shared commitment of the two countries to further deepening and broadening bilateral relations as well as advancing cooperation in the multilateral arena”.
The communique said that Ali also held discussions with the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Qiang, visiting Shanghai and Beijing.
“In the discussions, both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive development of bilateral relations between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the People’s Republic of China. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening bilateral relations and expanding collaboration in a variety of fields.
“Both sides reaffirmed their respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and support for their peoples’ choice of a development path suited to respective national conditions, based on the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit, and in keeping with the purposes of the United Nations Charter and international law. Guyanese side reiterated Guyana’s firm support for the one-China principle.”
The communique quoted the visiting Caribbean leader of expressing “gratitude to President Xi for China’s support in Guyana’s economic development, including in the area of infrastructure” and that “both sides committed to deepening economic ties, including enhanced trade and investment promotion, and to expanding cooperation in areas such as infrastructure development, agriculture, health, energy and education”.
It said the Beijing applauded Guyana “for the constructive role played by Guyana in regional and international affairs, especially on food security, regional integration and China-CELAC (Community of Latin America and the Caribbean) cooperation”.
“President Ali shared with the Chinese side his conviction that keen attention needed to be paid by both developed and developing countries in promoting food, climate and energy security for sustained development. Both sides noted that the Global Development Initiative was one framework that could support the implementation of this objective.”
Both countries also agreed to “expand collaboration” in the area of poverty alleviation and “agreed to investigate the prospects for collaboration in the development and construction of critical infrastructure projects, leveraging China’s experience, expertise and finance capacity.
“Both sides recognized the important value of trade and investment in deepening economic ties and committed to creating a favourable business environment to facilitate bilateral trade and investment activities.
“Both sides agreed to explore the possibility of expanding trade in a variety of industries, including agriculture, energy, mining, manufacturing, and services. Both sides recognized the crucial role of the business community of Guyana and China in driving economic development of the two countries. Both sides encouraged the business communities to take greater advantage of investment opportunities and forge partnerships.”
The communique said that the two countries also pledged to deepen cooperation on forest conservation, biodiversity conservation, and the promotion of renewable energy, expand cultural and educational collaboration, and emphasising the importance of people-to-people exchanges.
There was also an agreement to foster collaboration between educational institutions, promote student exchange programmes, and support cultural activities.
The communique noted that recognizing the global challenges posed by climate change; both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continuing their advocacy at the global level for combating climate change and promoting sustainable development. In this regard, both sides committed to expand cooperation in renewable energy, climate resilience and adaptation.
“Both sides also discussed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, noting that 2023 represents is a milestone for its achievement. Both sides expressed the firm conviction that greater international mobilization was critical for bridging the economic divide between developed and developing countries, strengthening developing countries’ capacity to respond to shocks, and for reducing the incidence of poverty in the developing world.”
The communique said that both sides agreed that regular meeting between the two governments was important for boosting bilateral cooperation and coordination on multilateral occasions and welcomed the signing of Memoranda of Understanding on the establishment of an Investment and Economic Cooperation Working Group.
