FORT LAUDERDALE – Eighteen companies from Guyana drawn from various sectors are to participate in next week’s Florida International Trade Conference and Expo (FITCE) in South Florida.
Florida International Trade Conference and Expo (FITCE) will be held at the Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, October 9-10.
This is the fifth year of the event and the US based Guyanese American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) has facilitated the participation, free of cost, of all the companies from Guyana. Additionally, the Ministry of Finance of Guyana and Suriname Airways have collaborated to provide for reduced cost of the tickets for those participating in FITCE.
The majority of participants from Guyana are small and medium size entities (SME’s), many of these women owned businesses. The Government of Guyana has also been invited to be represented at ministerial level.
Last week, The Guyanese American Chamber of Commerce (GACC) hosted a reception in Guyana for participants in the event.
In his remarks at the reception, President of the Chamber Wesley Kirton said that the Chamber was pleased that it has been able, once again, to facilitate, free of cost, the participation of small and medium-sized businesses from Guyana in the Expo.
Kirton encouraged them to make full use of the opportunity by attending the workshops that will focus how to export and import into the United States as well as address the various phytosanitary and other requirements for exporting food and food products.
Encouragement and advice were also offered to the participants in brief remarks by former Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin and Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) Gerry Gouveia.
Among the other guests with whom the participants had an opportunity to interact were former Trade Minister in the PPP/C government Manniram Prashad, Guyana Revenue Authority Commissioner General Godfrey Statia, Special Political Adviser to the President Dr. Mark Kirton, Andrew Dilts of the US Embassy in Guyana, Desmond Sears, former Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Hugh Todd of the PPP/Civic, and the consultant team from IOS Partners in the United States currently engaged on a project with Go-Invest.
A highlight of Guyana’s participation in the event is expected to be a “rum tasting” reception hosted on the final afternoon of the event by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), blenders and bottlers of Guyana’s internationally acclaimed and award winning El Dorado rums.
The participants are due to leave Guyana this weekend.
The GACC will have a booth at the event and its delegation will be headed by its chairman, Mr. Mohammed Omar.
