By Kemol King
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) Dr Peter Ramsaroop, said the government has held talks with members of the diaspora in Texas and Florida, USA on the roles they could play in Guyana’s development.
The meetings were held during the Offshore Technology Conference hosted in Houston, Texas from August 16-19.
Dr Ramsaroop said many overseas-based Guyanese have expressed their desire to return to these shores.
“They have a large Guyanese population in Houston. A lot of them left Guyana during the dictatorship in the 60s and 70s and they were fascinated to learn how different we are today,”Dr Ramsaroop told DPIduring an interview on Wednesday.
Vice president, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo also met with Guyanese in Florida following the Conference.
“The diaspora will play a big role in the development of our country, tying that with our local knowledge. So, we’re on that mission to let Guyanese, regardless of where you live, you are local, and we want you to be part of Guyana’s new wealth and development going forward,” Dr Ramsaroop noted.
The PPP/C Government considers the diaspora critical to the advancement of its 2020-2030 development agenda.
In May, the government held the first virtual diaspora conference, where thousands of overseas-based Guyanese were engaged on ways in which their knowledge and expertise could be used at home. The government is also extending benefits to Guyanese emigrants.