The Government of Guyana has embarked on a Diaspora outreach in the United Kingdom (U.K) as of Monday 10th April 2023. This is following a visit made by President Irfaan Ali who visited the U.K last year and met with members of the Guyanese Diaspora.
This is the first physical outreach post-pandemic by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, who has otherwise been engaging the Diaspora in the UK virtually during the pandemic period.
The team is led by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud who is also supported by Head of the Diaspora Unit, Rosalinda Rasul.
At the first engagement held at the Guyana High Commission in London, on Monday, the Foreign Secretary addressed scores of Guyanese and spoke extensively of the role of the Diaspora in Guyana’s development and about President Irfaan Ali’s ‘one Guyana.’
Persaud informed the gathering of their importance in fostering greater networks and diplomacy to advance Guyana’s development and advocating for the country’s interest at the international level, the role they can play in leading self-driven initiatives in areas that interest them and sharing their knowledge, skills, and networks to further develop Guyana.
The Diaspora was also updated on government’s plans relating to infrastructure, climate change, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, health, education, and customer service improvements for the public and Diaspora. This included the single window project and various other projects that the government said it will be implementing to enhance the ease of doing business and improve public sector efficiency.
Head of the Diaspora Unit Rosalinda Rasul, outlined the role of the Diaspora Unit She updated the overseas-based Guyanese on the activities in the unit and shared proposed initiatives the Unit will be implementing to further enhance engagements with them in the areas of skills transfer, Diaspora diplomacy and Diaspora Direct Investments.
The presentations were followed by a Q&A session.
There will be similar other such engagements throughout the visit.
