THE European Union is deepening its partnership with Guyana through business missions and academic collaborations aimed at boosting agro-processing, improving food standards and creating new opportunities for young people, all while keeping climate goals in focus.

Speaking at a briefing on the EU–Guyana Partnership Initiative, on Thursday, EU Ambassador Luca Pierantoni outlined the wider vision to “foster more partnership between the European Union and Guyana,” with an emphasis on economic cooperation and business-to-business links between European and Guyanese companies.

According to the ambassador the initial mission has generated “a lot of interest from both sides,” and three new business missions are planned for 2026, with itineraries now being discussed with EU member states.

“We are talking about partnerships that are mutually beneficial… for Europeans to increase their presence here, and for Guyanese to increase more presence in Europe.”

Joan Nadal Sastre, First Counsellor and Head of Co-operation at the EU Delegation explained that the mission back in November focused on agro-processing, which is “a top priority for Guyana.” To support this, the EU engaged Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading institutions in agriculture and food sciences.

“We had the opportunity last November to receive a delegation from Guyana… and we were very much impressed by the efforts the government of Guyana is doing, especially regarding food production… and especially in the agro-processing part,” Ria Hulsman, an agronomist and Manager of International Co-operation with Latin America and the Caribbean at WUR.

The delegation stressed that agro-processing is aligned with Guyana’s ambition to become the breadbasket of the region and argued that technology transfer and joint processing could help raise standards and unlock new export opportunities.

From the academic side, Speaker Jouke Campen, an international project manager who specialises in protected horticulture said that within two years they would like to see Guyanese youth with higher-level expertise in areas such as food technology, food safety, food ingredients and food law with Wageningen helping to assess and harmonise standards with EU requirements.

“I would be a happy person if, after two years, there are people from Guyana that are really looking into this, to really push forward the production of Guyana… We love chocolate, we love cacao, we love avocado, we love banana. So, I think there is a huge potential for Guyana to enter the market in Europe,” he said.
The delegation strongly praised Guyana’s initiatives to involve youth and vulnerable groups in agriculture, including shade-house projects and entrepreneurship schemes.

“There’s a real empowerment of youth, and sometimes even specifically for women on gaining knowledge and to really set up your own business. They really are empowered to become an entrepreneur,” Campen, who shared his enthusiasm and awe of the work Guyana has done, supporting youth and embracing climate-smart practises said.