Guatemalan delegation to London engage on closer trading ties and increasing future cooperation
BGIPU welcomed a delegation from the Congress of Guatemala to London from Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July. The delegation was led by Julio Héctor Estrada and included Nery Ramos, José Carlos Sanabria and Victoria Palala. They were accompanied by Marlon Martinez, from the Directorate of Legislative Studies and Research in the Congress of Guatemala.
The programme began on the Monday morning with a briefing session by the Ambassador and her team at the Guatemalan Embassy in London. The group then made their way to Parliament to be hosted for a welcome lunch by Fabian Hamilton MP, Chair of the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union. The afternoon session started with an Introduction to the Westminster System by Emma Makey, Head of Strategy and Programmes in the Interparliamentary Relations Office, which presented a good opportunity to learn about the similarities and differences between the two political and legislative systems. This was followed by a meeting with Dame Jess Morden MP, Trade Envoy to Central America, before heading to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to meet with Catherine O’Niell, Deputy Director of the Latin America Department.
Tuesday morning began with a tour of Parliament, brilliantly hosted by Fabian Hamilton MP, giving the delegation the opportunity to become acquainted with the Palace of Westminster. A busy morning of meetings in Parliament followed, these included a meeting with members of the Latin America All-Party Parliamentary Group; a meeting with Sir Chris Bryant MP, Minister of State for Trade, around the proposed UK-Guatemala Metro Riel collaboration; and lastly a meeting with Nusrat Ghani MP were they discussed her role as Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Ways and Means but also went on to discuss the important scrutiny role of Select Committees. Followed by an excellent working lunch, hosted by Darren Paffey MP, in the IPU Room and finally a meeting with Dan Carden MP, member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
The delegation was very kindly invited to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for a session on Wednesday morning. They were given a tour of the IMO building and then received a presentation from Mr Carlos Salgado, Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Section in the Technical Cooperation and Implementation Division. They were also given the opportunity to view London from the IMO’s fourth floor terrace, arguably one of the best views of Parliament possible. They then made their way back to the Palace of Westminster to observe Prime Minister’s Questions followed by a lunch, excellently hosted by Baroness Hooper, in Peers’ Dining Room. The afternoon included a roundtable discussion with members of BGIPU and a chance to speak with members of the House of Commons Transport Committee. The chair and members of the transport committee discussed the small but growing light rail projects in the form of tram networks in various UK cities and highlighted the success of a light rail project in London in the DLR. A further very successful transport project which was highlighted was the Elizabeth Line which the delegation was to visit the following day. With the end of Wednesday’s programme, the parliamentary programme was concluded.
With Thursday and Friday came the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) organised Rail Programme. Thursday began with a session in Old Admiralty Building to set out the UK’s Government-to-Government support offer and the objectives of the programme. This was followed by a tour of the Elizabeth Line with representatives of Crossrail International which concluded in Canary Wharf and the opportunity to view the development of both the Docklands Light Railway and Elizabeth Line in that part of London. The group returned to Old Admiralty Building for a workshop with representatives of Transport for London.
Friday morning began at the offices of Arup in Central London where the group were given a presentation by representatives from Arup, Mace and Gleeds, three of the UK’s leading companies in infrastructure development, to further demonstrate what British companies could offer Guatemala in relation to its Metro Riel infrastructure development. The group then made its way over to King’s Cross Station and was given a tour of the whole redevelopment site in and around the station, highlighting the capabilities of British businesses in transforming urban areas.
With the conclusion of the Rail Programme at King’s Cross the delegation headed to Islington for lunch with Jeremy Corbyn MP in his local constituency. The lunch served as the final stop on their weeklong programme. It provided an excellent opportunity to reflect on and round up a very busy and engaging programme across London. The delegation had the opportunity to engage with a vast array of stakeholders from Britain, from parliamentarians all the way to business leaders in the rail sector. Hopefully, the visit will serve as a bedrock for continuing cooperation between the UK and Guatemala be that in the political sphere or through closer trading links. Excellently highlighted by last week’s signing of the UK-Guatemala Memorandum of Understanding on infrastructure development.
Meeting with the Chairman of Ways and Means, Nusrat Ghani MP
Meeting with Minister of State for Trade Sir Chris Bryant MP in the IPU Room
Delegation outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Delegation pictured on College Green in front of the Palace of Westminster
