(CMC) Grenada is sending a delegation to Guyana next week in a bid to improve trading relations between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell announced on Wednesday.
Mitchell, who is also the current chairman of the 15-member regional integration movement, said that a team from the Tourism Economic Development and Culture will be travelling to Georgetown next week and that “the specific purpose is to do a business and trade mission in Guyana and to launch direct flights between Guyana and Grenada.”
“We feel there is a great opportunity for the tourism market for Guyanese expats who are there as well to come up to Grenada for vacation to give them an opportunity to see what Grenada is like,” said Mitchell, who was a guest on a Grenadian television programme.
“Obviously, the growth in the market means there is opportunity there for us for trade, for businesses as well. So a lot of our agro, small business, some of them will be going down to Guyana to look at that and that’s whey we need the free movement because one of the small businesses here told me there is an opportunity for them to sell their goods in Guyana.”
But he said in order to capitalise on such an opportunity, the small business has first to go through Miami in order to reach Guyana.
“So that’s a major challenge,” Mitchell said, as he lamented the problems still associated with the efforts to get the free movement aspect under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) going.
“We certainly not where we should be. To some extent we regressed, to a large extent frankly, we regressed when it comes to air and maritime transportation,” he said, adding “intra-regional travel is still a major, major challenge within the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States) as well.
“It does require a political will, it does require unity of purpose,” Mitchell told television viewers, adding “it is one thing to talk and say it is a problem, but it is another thing to actually put resources in”.
He said from a Grenada perspective “we absolutely believe that the governments have to support the private sector in providing air transportation and the maritime transportation.
“But it is the private sector that has to provide it. We will support, but the idea of the governments trying to manage, or the governments being more involved other than support from a resources perspective, in my view, the history has shown within CARICOM, it is always a problem.
“From my perspective we are happy to put money in,” he said, noting that the subsidy arrangements St George’s had to put in place to ensure planes service the Carriacou routes “because we recognise that we do not have the ability or the business model to operate.
“So we have done what we need to do from a leasing of the aircraft perspective. We have over to SVG Air because they have a hanger in St Vincent. If I was being short sighted, I could have said, you know what, I want the hanger in Grenada and because the hanger is not in Grenada, you now what I am not doing the deal.
“But who does that punish. It punishes the citizens of Grenada and Carriacou and so we have to move past that sort of thing and we are committed to putting in resources, we are committed to supporting reputable operators who want to put the region’s interest first.
‘The challenge is that Grenada cannot do it alone and if we don’t get the by in from our colleagues in the OECS and within CARICOM who have a similar viewpoint it will be very difficult. It is clear that air transportation and maritime transportation is every expensive but there is some hope”.
Mitchell said Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada have been doing work within the maritime space and working towards a ferry service that could also take along cargo.
‘So, finding the right ferry is very critical,” he added.
