Da Silva was appointed to the cabinet of President Bharrat Jagdeo on 19 November 1999, replacing the ailing Michael Shree Chan as minister of trade, tourism and industry."President appoints new finance, trade ministers", BBC Monitoring Americas, 19 November 1999; "Guyana's president names new finance, trade ministers", Associated Press Newswires, 19 November 1999, 17:00 report. As a participant in the Fourth Annual Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development in 2000, he argued that Caribbean tourism would need to reflect a growing interest in ecotourism.Jeffrey Laign, "Natural bounty", 21 August 2000, p. 13. He also promoted sustainable tourism in the ecologically fragile area of Kaieteur and took part in negotiations toward completing a roadway with Brazil.Robert Elliott, "Guyana's Kaieteur Falls a secret ... for now", Reuters News, 4 September 2000, 21:02 report; "Guyana and Brazil to hold talks on rainforest highway", EFE News Service, 11 December 2000. In February 2000, he led an official delegation that met with Prince Charles of the United Kingdom in his official visit to Guyana."Prince Charles visits poor areas in Guyana", Agence France-Presse, 25 February 2000.
