President David Granger and a team, including Vice-President and Foreign Minister, Carl Greenidge, recently participated in the European Development Days (EDD) 2017 forum in Brussels, Belgium, where he delivered a presentation at the opening ceremony.
He was invited to do so by European Commission (EC) President, Jean-Claude Juncker. This was the first time that Guyana participated in the annual high-level European forum on economic development.
The President joined keynote speakers and prominent personalities, such as the President of Senegal, Mr. Macky Sall, President of Ghana, Mr. Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Rwanda, Mr. Paul Kagame, Prime Minister of Norway, Ms. Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat, Co-President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)-European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. Louis Michel, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, for a panel discussion on ‘Investing in Development’ where he championed Guyana’s green state development strategy.
Meanwhile, during the June 7 and 8 event, the Guyana Government delegation held a number of meetings, including with EU Commissioner of International Cooperation and Development, Mr. Neven Mimica, where discussions centered on the future of the partnership between the ACP, of which Guyana is a member, and the EU. The visiting team also met with the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation, Alexander de Croo.
President Granger further used the opportunity of his presence at the forum to discuss the black listing of countries that are non-compliant with Anti-Money Laundering legislation with members of the EU Parliament.
Guyana’s participation at the EDD provided a platform for its involvement in discussions on the future of the 2000 Cotonou Agreement which binds the EU and ACP countries in, among others, a common goal of poverty eradication.