Georgetown, Guyana – (October 05, 2015) Newly appointed Ambassador of the Delegation of the Europena Union to Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and for the Dutch Overseas Countries and Territories, Jernej Videtič today paid a courtesy call on Minister of Governance, with responsibility for the Natural Resources and the Environment sector, Raphael Trotman at his office on Brickdam.
The meeting was organised with the aim of formally initiating a partnership between the Ministry and the European Union.
During the meeting, matters on both Governance and the Natural Resources and the Environment sector were discussed.
On the issue of Governance, the establishment of the Integrity Commission, the Public Procurement Commission and the Rights – Human Rights, Women and Gender Equality, Ethic Relations Commissions and the Ministerial Code of Conduct were discussed. Meanwhile, the Wildlife Import and Export Bill, scheduled for Parliament later this year; Guyana’s participation at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Paris, France in December and alternative energy plans were discussed with relation to the Natural Resources and the Environment sector.
“They [the European Union] are eager to start some projects with us and the Ambassador wanted to share his views on where he believes emphasis should be placed, and of course, you know that will be transparency, good governance and budget support. It is good that he is here since we also let them know what are our thoughts and perspectives and expectations of the European Union and all other donor agencies,” Minister Trotman said.
The Ambassador also used the opportunity to congratulate Guyana on meeting the deadline for the submission of its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the Climate Change Conference.
Guyana’s submission of its INDC makes it only the third CARICOM state to submit on the October 1 deadline, with Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada having submitted earlier.
Ambassador Videtič was accompanied by Derek Lambe, Head of the Political Section and Ewout Sandker, Head of Cooperation while Minister Trotman had with him, Ministerial Adviser, Clayton Hall and Technical Assistant at NRE, Theresa Gaime.
