September 21, 2016
GEORGETOWN, Guyana – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator Mikiko Tanaka today September 21, 2016 paid a courtesy call on Minister of Natural Resources Honourable Raphael G.C. Trotman, M.P., where the two held brief discussions on a number of issues relating to the work of the Ministry.
The courtesy call took place in the upper boardroom of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
In the brief meeting, the Minister said that the UNDP has been extremely helpful in the area of sustainable mining practices in the transition from mercury use and in capacity building in the Mining School. UNDP support to the Ministry also included a recently held workshop on oil and gas and the hiring of a petroleum consultant.
The Minister said that he would like the Ministry to have a stronger, and better-defined arrangement with the UNDP and described the UN body as being a non-partisan and equitable development partner with whom the Ministry is always pleased to work.
The Minister told UNDP Resident Representative that the extractive sector can be an important facet in the green economy and that the two concepts are not mutually exclusive. The Minister pointed out that of the extractive industries, and mining in particular, is an integral part of the Guyanese economy and a mainstay of life for Guyanese, and so, it has to be conducted in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
The Ministry’s ongoing efforts to create a regime to support Guyana’s developing oil and gas industry, including the building of the necessary capacity and passage legislation, were also discussed.
The UNDP Resident Representative, who arrived in Guyana in late August 2016, acknowledged the importance role mining plays in Guyana’s economy but said that there is greater need for adding value to the extractive industry as a whole. She expressed her willingness to explore ways in which the UNDP can help the Ministry achieve its goals including, how conflicts arising from tensions created by mining and forestry can be better managed and peacefully resolved.
