On February 5, 2022, the China Horizon Programme of NCN Guyana broadcasted an interview with Ambassador Guo Haiyan. Ambassador Guo answered questions about the bilateral relations between China and Guyana as well as opportunities and challenges for future development, briefly introduced a series of celebration activities for the 50th anniversary to be held by the Embassy and welcomed the participation of friends from all walks of life in Guyana.
China and Guyana are each other's genuine friend and important development partner, said Ambassador Guo. Over the past 50 years, our political trust has been continuously strengthened through constant reciprocal high-level visits. Our economic and trade cooperation has borne fruitful results with largely increased bilateral trade volume in recent years. Our people-to-people and cultural exchanges have been growing with Chinese Medical Brigade, Chinese Government Scholarships and Confucius Institute in University of Guyana as the benchmarks. Our communication and coordination in international affairs have been smooth and effective, jointly upholding the principle of multilateralism and safeguarding the interests of developing countries. Moreover, Guyana joined the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018 and cooperation under this framework has been deepening with solid steps.
Ambassador Guo emphasized that China and Guyana have a lot in common in their development concepts and aspirations and there's huge cooperation potential to be cultivated in bilateral, regional and global levels. The Global Development Initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2021 at United Nations General Assembly is providing China's solution to support the development of developing countries and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 sustainable development agenda. Guyana is welcome to join the GDI at its earliest convenience and explore new areas and new modes of cooperation with China on this platform for mutual benefits.
Ambassador Guo also mentioned that China-Guyana relations have to overcome some of the negative impacts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges in world economic recovery. China and Guyana should enhance communication in order to understand each other's policies and laws better, and avoid misunderstanding caused by some partial or even erroneous media reports.
At the end of the programme, Ambassador Guo extended her warmest greetings to all Chinese nationals and Guyanese friends on the occasion of the Year of the Tiger Spring Festival.