Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Guyana
The State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, is expected to lead a delegation on a visit to Guyana on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd September.
The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to meet with President David Granger, and Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge, to exchange views on bilateral cooperation and to discuss areas of mutual interest, a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The announcement of the visit follows the signing on July 27th of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between Guyana and China on the latter’s ‘ambitious Belt and Road’ initiative, which is expected to see a major focus on public infrastructure and could possibly see the financing of part of the Linden-Lethem highway and the new Demerara Harbour Bridge.
Wang’s visit will be watched closely as it relates to the contracting of loans from China, the development of ties on the belt and road initiative and possible interest in Guyana’s oil and gas sector. The announcement of the minister’s visit also follows a meeting on Friday between the Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan and China’s Ambassador to Guyana Cui Jianchun on concerns surrounding the security of the Chinese community here.
Diplomatic observers will also note that this high-level visit by the Chinese foreign minister precedes the expected visit later this year to Guyana by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wang was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2013. Since joining the Chinese Foreign Service after completing his studies at the Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute in 1982, he has held a number of posts, including as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to Japan.