Trade Minister leads high-powered delegation to open Ghana Chamber of Commerce in Guyana

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond (MP), is leading a high-powered delegation to Guyana to commission the Ghana Chamber of Commerce (GCC) in Guyana and to explore further opportunities for stronger trade and investment ties between Ghana and Guyana.

The delegation includes Bryan Acheampong, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Minister of Education, and Michael Okyere Baafi, deputy minister of trade and industry.

Also on the delegation are Mike Oquaye Jnr, the chief executive officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, and Fred Kyei Asamoah, the director general of the Commission for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (CTVET).

The commissioning of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce (Guyana) will take place on Monday (22 May 2023) on the third floor of 301 Church and New Garden Street, Queenstown, Georgetown, Guyana.

The Ghanaian delegation will be in Guyana for five days.

A statement issued by Guyana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation said that Guyana believes “the establishment of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce in Georgetown would enhance greatly collaboration between the two countries in the areas of human resource development, commerce, investment and economic development”.

About Guyana

Guyana lies on the central northern coast of South America, its shore facing the North Atlantic Ocean. Countries with land borders with Guyana are Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela; it shares maritime borders with Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

The country is part of the Guianas, a region in north-eastern Latin America on the Guiana Shield, an old and stable geological formation that lies on the northern coast.

The Guianas are bounded by the Orinoco, Negro and Amazon Rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. The region covers Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.

Guyana has a population of 748,000 (2012 census). The capital of Guyana (also the largest city) is Georgetown (population: 192,000).

Guyana is the only English-speaking country in South America. The language most commonly spoken is English (the official language), but the vast majority of Guyanese speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based pidgin. Also commonly used are Amerindian languages, including Caribbean and Arawak languages. Many Indo-Guyanese people also speak Hindi.

Guyana has rich reserves of bauxite, gold and timber but it has struggled to overcome poverty and attract investment to bolster its small economy.

Mining and subsistence agriculture using primitive methods are Guyana’s most important economic activities. The top exports are gold, rice, aluminium ore and raw sugar.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra