Georgetown, Guyana – (February 15, 2016) Teams representing the Government of Guyana and the Barama Company Limited, last week, held discussions to examine the Company’s request for a renewal of its Investment Development Agreement, which will expire in October.
The Government’s team comprised representatives from the Ministries of Natural Resources, Indigenous People’s Affairs, Business and Public Infrastructure, along with the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Guyana Forestry Commission.
The Government expects to benefit from expert advice from the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) to help inform its decision. Formal talks on the matter will commence later this month covering several critical areas of interest.
In September 2015, Minister Trotman visited the company’s Buck Hall operations to get a first-hand look at the operations and working conditions there. He had said that the Government would like to see more value-added production from investors in Guyana and he would ensure that this component is included in any agreement.
During that tour in September, General Manager of the company, Mr. Mohindra Chand had said that Barama has been one of the long-standing foreign companies in Guyana and while the challenges were many, it had never considered ceasing operations here. Noting that more than $43 billion has been plugged into its Guyana operations, he said that he expected Barama to grow and further development to take place once the agreement is renewed. Barama has been operating in Guyana since 1991.
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