Dr. Leslie Satruken Ramsammy officially assumed his role as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) today, presenting his letter of credence to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO. The appointment is effective as of August 1, 2024.
In a brief but significant meeting, Ambassador Ramsammy expressed Guyana’s appreciation for the WTO’s support in capacity-building, particularly for small economies facing human resource constraints. He noted that Guyana is set to participate in upcoming WTO training workshops, scheduled for later this year and early 2025 in Georgetown.
Ambassador Ramsammy emphasized Guyana’s leadership in key global and regional areas such as food and nutrition security, climate and environmental security, and energy security. He detailed the nation’s commitment to economic diversification, highlighting efforts to avoid the pitfalls of over-reliance on oil by maintaining a balanced and diversified economic strategy.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala commended Guyana’s significant contributions to regional food security, noting the country’s role in reducing CARICOM’s food import bill by 11 percent to date. This achievement supports the broader CARICOM goal of reducing the food import bill by 25 percent by 2025—a key component of the “25 by 25” initiative.
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Both the WTO Director-General and Ambassador Ramsammy underscored the importance of advancing digital trade and expanding the services sector, recognizing that digital services are integral to the future of global trade.
Guyana, a WTO member since January 1, 1995, and a member of GATT since July 5, 1966, remains committed to supporting the WTO and advocating for a fair and transparent multilateral trading system. The country takes its role as the CARICOM Ministerial Spokesperson on WTO matters seriously.
Ambassador Ramsammy was accompanied by Mr. Colin Luckie, First Secretary at Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the WTO.
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