Guyanese living in the UK urged to champion Guyana’s interests internationally

Members of the Guyanese diaspora who are living in the United Kingdom (UK) were on Monday urged to champion Guyana’s interests internationally, according to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

That call was made at the first diaspora engagement held this week in the UK. A series of engagements will be held this week, led by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud.

See below full release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation:

The Government of Guyana has embarked on a Diaspora outreach in the United Kingdom as of Monday 10th April 2023. This is following a visit made by President Irfaan Ali who visited the UK 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, which has otherwise been engaging the Diaspora in the UK virtually during the pandemic period.

Leading the team is Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud. He is 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 supporting President Irfaan Ali’s One Guyana initiative and his plans for the creation of a modern Guyana that will benefit all Guyanese.

To this end, Mr. 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 Foreign Secretary also updated the Diaspora on many of the government’s development plans relating to infrastructure, climate change, the Low Carbon Development Strategy, health, education, and customer service improvements for the public and Diaspora. The latter included the single window project and various other projects that the government 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 since the government reinstituted it. She updated the overseas-based Guyanese on how the Unit has been involved in advancing the interests of the Diaspora from all parts of the globe and shared upcoming initiatives that the Unit will be implementing to further enhance engagements with them in the areas of skills transfer, Diaspora diplomacy and Diaspora Direct Investments. Ms. Rasul further indicated that one of her objectives on this outreach is to meet more of the second and third generation Guyanese to engage them in the role they can play in Guyana’s development.

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session. Engagements will continue this week with more meetings in the UK.

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