Grenada and Guyana forge new business ties with direct flights and trade mission

In a significant development, a trade mission from Grenada is in Guyana at present, hoping to entice the Guyanese crowd about the business opportunities for both nations.

That mission comes as there is a clear interest and commitment in organising a direct flight from September between the two countries.

According to the information, the need to get to Guyana directly from Grenada and Guyana to Grenada and, by extension, South America is absolutely critical to moving people, goods, and services.

While sharing the development recently, Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell said, "And so we appreciate that even if it's a small step, even if it's a 40-seat plane or a 60 seat plane, we must ensure that we begin the process now of having that direct connection between Guyana, Grenada and the rest of the OECS."

He said that his government is committed to do so and they have given the instructions to the authorities responsible for this, to ensure that this happens.

"And I want to be on the flight when it happens. There isn't only a Grenadian interest in Guyana, but Guyanese are also keen on doing business with Grenadians," added the PM. 

He emphasized that this was evident when the local and Grenadian private sectors met for a business dinner in Kingston on Wednesday night.

During this dinner, a representative from the Guyana Manufacturing and Service Association, Rafeek Khan, outlined, "You've heard this over and over by our president that we need more collaboration in food packaging and processing. Tetra packing is needed in the coconut industry and others, and we are not doing that in Guyana as yet."

"And when it comes to coconut water and tea processing, I believe in Grenada. You might be producing tea, I believe. But that is something that we are importing, and we have a lot of natural products in Guyana that we could produce, such as tea and prefab homes, using timber," he added. 

Khan emphasised that the housing demand across the region is exponential which is why there is a need of more companies to participate in to get things reach the right consumers. 

Meanwhile, from the government side, there is much interest in this partnership. Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh noted, "We want more Grenadian companies to do business in Guyana. I want to be unequivocal about that."

He stressed, "Whether you are a construction company, whether you are in agriculture, poultry, meat, poultry farming, or poultry meat production, we want you to be seeking out business whether you are in the production of quarry aggregates. We want you to be seeking out business opportunities in Guyana and doing business there."

As the two sides are working out new deals and partnerships, the first direct flight is already expected to be organized through Intercaribbean Airways.