Guyana-Norway deal seen as national achievement

President Jagdeo expressed his gratitude to persons and organisations, both in Norway and Guyana.(Photo: un.org)

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, November 11, 2009 – Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo says the agreement which will see Norway providing US$250 million in exchange for Guyana’s efforts to protect forests should be treated as a national achievement.

“This is a real watershed moment for our country. At no time in the past in our entire history has so much money been pledged to our country in a single initiative. No time,” he said.

“On an annual basis, this works out to more than the loans and grants that we receive from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the European Union (EU) combined.”

President Jagdeo expressed his gratitude to persons and organisations, both in Norway and Guyana, who worked diligently to make this week’s signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries a reality and a validation of Guyana’s efforts over the past year.

“Three years ago when I spoke of this, many people thought that this would not deliver results,” he noted.

The US$250 million to be provided over five years pledged by the Government of Norway is a significant commitment that could be used to boost the development efforts of Guyana, and President Jagdeo was effusive in his appreciation for the visionary stance taken by the Scandinavian country.

This agreement is another in a line of many sector-leading firsts for Guyana, which includes the successful completion of the due diligence study under the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), from which the country will also receive funding.

“We have had the most comprehensive debate on climate change anyway in the world during the past four months and now we’re the first country in the world to ink a deal with a developed world counterpart that could serve as a model for the Copenhagen discussions,” the President highlighted.

He noted that if the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen fails to reach a consensus, Guyana has been able to seal an alternative arrangement to support its development drive.

However, he said, should a consensus be achieved, the Guyana-Norway partnership will complement the global climate change compact.

“The Memorandum of Understanding outlines a series of understandings that we have reached between Guyana and Norway and we’ve made it clear that these understandings would in no way run counter to the UNFCCC process,” Jagdeo said.

He noted that under the agreement with Norway, Guyana promises to ensure sustainable mining and forestry practices, maintain the open and transparent dialogue on climate change that has been occurring during the past four months and use the funds provided accountably and transparently.