Chief Investment Officer points to more opportunities for local businesses with UK Visa waiver

Chief Investment Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Dr Peter Ramsaroop, has declared that local businesses will have more opportunities to explore trade relations in the United Kingdom. Ramsaroop sai that this will be possible with the new visa waiver recently announced by the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Jane Miller.

CIO Ramsaroop stressed that Guyanese businesses were confined to trade in the European market because of the visa restrictions imposed by the UK Government.

“They were going other places United States, China. Now, our businesses can do more trading with Europe. So outward out of Guyana, going into the UK, coming now from the UK, it opens up Guyana to the investment opportunities,” Dr Ramsaroop was recently quoted in a media interview.

The Chief Investment Officer noted that it is up to local businesses to now ensure competitiveness in the European market.

“We have to look at where we benefit both from an incoming perspective but better more, our businesses to look at outgoing. How do we get our products to the European market? how do we compete with other nations in that area?  how do we make sure that our products are competitive? and I am more interested in the outgoing than as much as incoming,” he reieterated.

CIO Dr Ramsaroop also made mention of British Airways, which he said will begin flying directly to Guyana in the new year. This, he said will assist significantly in the expansion of trade opportunities between the two countries.

“There are so many opportunities in the broader Europe, even the Arab world, the Asia world [they] will now fly to London as their hub coming to Guyana,” Ramsaroop said

Dr Ramsaroop pointed out that it is for this reason he has urged local tourism operators to be prepared for an expansion of eco-tourism from the European market.

It was revealed that Guyanese with a valid passport will no longer be required visas to travel to the United Kingdom from November 9, 2022. They can stay in the UK for up to six months.

Additionally, the British High Commissioner said the visa waiver signals the UK’s confidence in the growth of the relationship between the two countries.