An agreement in this regard was signed last Friday between Guyanese Finance Minister and Deputy GM of EXIM Bank. Guyana, which has a substantial Indian diaspora, plans to purchase two HAL (Dornier) 228 planes from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The HAL 228 planes are said to be ideal for Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) for Guyana’s terrain and would be used for maritime patrols as well as, resupply of military bases, troop movement to interior locations.
Last Friday’s Line of Credit (LoC) Agreement is the first ever defence LOC that India has signed with any Caribbean nation. Guyana also plans to purchase patrol vehicles, radars and armoured vehicles from India, sources indicated to ET.
“This agreement represents the latest instalment of the Government’s ongoing effort to ramp up the capabilities of the GDF, and has its genesis in President Ali’s visit to India’s state-owned aerospace and defence company – Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, in January 2023,” the Finance Ministry of Guyana said following the agreement.
Guyana’s Finance Minister following the agreement explained that the Government is investing heavily in strengthening the capabilities of the GDF, in particular, in some of its specialised wings, such as the Air Corps and the Coast Guard. He further said that the purchase of the two aircraft is part of the biggest ever investment in the capitalisation of the force thus far.The Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Omar Khan, while speaking on behalf of the defence sector, recognised role that the Government of India has played in defence training over decades in Guyana and noted that signing is in keeping with the President’s vision of a strengthened security sector that will help to maintain the peace and prosperity.With the signing of last Friday’s LoC Agreement, Guyana to date, has received eleven (11) LOCs from the Indian EXIM Bank over the years.
Earlier India had offered 19 defence training slots to GDF under its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme. These training slots included 10 Army Courses, 4 Naval Courses and 5 Air Force Courses.
