King Charles has arrived in Guyana for the second leg of his Caribbean tour, following a visit to the Bahamas which Buckingham Palace described as a “sensitive balancing act” and “diplomatic success”.

The main themes of the two-day state visit to Guyana will be the environment and sustainability – alongside the growing commercial ties between the UK and Guyana.

The King is due to have an audience with the country’s President, Irfaan Ali, and will attend a state reception celebrating the 60 year bilateral relationship between the two countries.

After visiting Guyana, King Charles will visit Antigua and Bermuda where he will open a major Commonwealth leaders summit in his role as the head of the “family of nations”.

Guyana – formerly British Guiana – is the world’s fastest growing economy due to the discovery of oil reserves there in 2015.

More than four fifths of Guyana is covered by rainforest and it has one of the lowest rates of deforestation in the world.

Cultural exchanges will also feature with a group of bagpipers from the National Piping Centre in Scotland joining the royal tour.

As the King left the Bahamas on Thursday to fly to Guyana for the second leg of his Caribbean tour, his spokesman said the islands had “a special place in the King’s heart.”

“The great wall of cheers he received when greeting crowds will echo long in his memory – and be a source of tremendous pride and encouragement as the tour continues to Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.”

The two day trip to the Bahamas saw the King meet young boxers, environmentalists and politicians.

He also joined the dancing in a Junkanoo parade to celebrate island life.

But in his only public speech of the tour so far, delivered during his first engagement in the Bahamas, the King referenced the UK’s involvement in the slave trade acknowledging the “suffering of the past.”

His spokesman said: “The King had hoped, the visit proved an opportunity to celebrate and reaffirm the modern partnership between The Bahamas and the UK. And to address the shared challenges of the future and also to acknowledge the great injustices of the past in a respectful way.”

The tour comes amidst renewed calls from Caribbean nations for Britain to apologise for its role in the slave trade and to offer reparations – compensation from those countries who profited from the trade in enslaved men and women.

A small number of protesters were at some of the King’s engagements in the Bahamas, with campaigners holding signs saying “pay us what you owe us” but their presence did not disrupt events.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) being held in Antigua and Barbuda from 1 November will discuss the legacy of slavery. The King will deliver a speech as Head of the Commonwealth.