UK ends visa requirement for booming Guyana

The British government said Tuesday said it was abolishing visa entry requirements for Guyanese, whose nation’s global importance has been rising with its growing oil and gas export capacity.

High Commissioner Jane Miller announced the decision, which takes effect next month, saying it is “a real sign of the confidence the United Kingdom has in the growth of our relationship”.

She noted that British Airways flights to South America’s only English-speaking country would resume at the end of March.

The World Bank has projected Guyana’s gross domestic product will increase by nearly 50 per cent this year and foreign investment has skyrocketed since American supermajor ExxonMobil and an international consortium found commercial oil and gas deposits off of Guyana in 2015.

President Irfaan Ali, who joined Miller at an event to announce the visa decision, said the government “will be working very closely with the United Kingdom in strengthening our systems to ensure there is proper monitoring and to ensure that there is no abuse of the system”.

AP