France aims to develop greater political, business ties with Guyana

France, with regional overseas territories like French Guiana, Martinique and Guadeloupe, is looking to develop greater political and business ties with Guyana.

Last year, Chargé d’Affaires José Gomez recommitted to establishing a full-fledged diplomatic presence here and work is ongoing in that regard.

But the French Government also sees value in ramping up its economic and business-to-business cooperation with Guyana as a new oil producer looking to spur development with new infrastructure, green energy and technology.

As such, a high-ranking official in the person of Pierre Sentenac, the Chief of the Economic Department at the French Embassy, is in Georgetown participating in the highly subscribed 2023 International Energy Conference and Expo.

In an exclusive interview with the News Room on Wednesday, Sentenac said France is impressed with Guyana’s economic growth in the last three years and its potential for the future.

“For us it is a country we want to focus on,” the Economic Advisor said, as he noted efforts to tap Guyana’s economic potential by bringing new French business to these shores.

Currently, about 10 French business are operating in Guyana, mostly in the oil and gas sector, but Sentenac said there are going to be more French businesses setting up shop here.

“Some French companies have been here for long time, some just arrived and there are some to come,” he added.

Among the French companies in Guyana is Rubis and Amazon Caribbean.

“We want to go further, and there is interest in developing infrastructure and helping with energy transition and energy production,” Sentenac added.

By June 2023, he intends to return to Guyana with a French delegation of companies for a series of business-to-government and business-to-business meetings.

Since 2021, France has had a representative in Guyana in the person of Pierre Gaté.

The relationship between France and Guyana has benefitted over the years from the firm relations established in 1967.

France is one of the industrialised countries with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions: it represents only 1.2% of global emissions.

The first French-Guyanese cooperation project, launched in 2021, is intended to preserve the tropical forest and support the Amerindian populations who live there.

In terms of cooperation, other projects are in preparation and France hopes that the French Development Agency will soon be able to initiate programmes in Guyana.

Educational and cultural ties between the two nations are also set to be developed.