During a press briefing before the official handing over of the agreement at State House today, the President said that he expects the agreement to support initiatives such as marketing and capacity-building to ensure that activities in the forestry sector are conducted in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. He noted that all activities under the project would be done in close coordination with national institutions and local partners, including the National Toshaos Council, to “Maximise the benefits of significant resources already invested at the community level”.Deputy Secretary-General of the European External Action Service, Ms. Helena König, who made the presentation, praised Guyana for its “historically low” deforestation rates and noted that the European Union has made sustainable forest management the main focus in its new bilateral cooperation with Guyana. “Fully in line with Guyana’s own Low Carbon Development Strategy, we aim to support Guyana’s ambition to preserve and enhance the sustainable development role of forest as a key asset, also signaled, of course, by the Honourable President Ali. ”The Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Vickram Bharrat; Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, and other Government officials were also at the event.
