LONDON – Guyana has called on British investors to be more aggressive in their approach into doing business in the CARICOM country whose future development trajectory is predicated on strengthening traditional sectors and building new ones.
President Irfaan Ali addressing United Kingdom investors (DPI Photo)“Many people ask sometimes why Chinese investors find the market faster than anyone else; well I can tell you from our humble experience, their aggression is far different,” President Irfaan Ali said as he addressed the Guyana Investment Seminar, held at Carlton House here.
The event was organized by The Caribbean Council, a trade and investment membership organization that supports responsible and sustainable private sector-led investment and development in the Caribbean and Central America.
Ali said that while the United Kingdom has earmarked millions of pounds (One British pound=US$1.25 cents) Guyana can qualify for through investment, infrastructure development and infrastructure transformation, there is a lack of aggressiveness from the UK and European Union private sectors.
“Our development is about creating a broad platform for the future; a platform in which we are going to strengthen traditional sectors, make them more competitive…we’re going to go after new sectors,” Ali said, noting that among the sectors included Information Communication Technology (ICT), education, healthcare and tourism.
He described the ICT sector as one of the “new pillars” that will support the economy and that Guyana also wants to create a health sector that is world-class and a “knowledge sector” where education will play an important role.
He also highlighted Guyana’s proximity to the United States as a positive for visitors, who are looking for an alternative in medical services, and the country’s geographic position of bridging South America with the Caribbean.
In the tourism sector, President Ali said Canada will help to train Guyanese in hospitality management and that the country has launched a program to get 6000 Guyanese trained in the sector.
He said this is necessary to not only create the opportunity but to build institutional capacity and human capacity to meet the opportunities ahead.
President Ali told the conference that Guyana is “body” confronting its challenges adding “those are the challenges our development trajectory will address and must address.”
He said significant strides had been made in the agriculture sector outlining Guyana’s lead role in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to advance food production and food security in the region.
“The heads of CARICOM came together, and we have decided that by 2025, we want to reduce the food import bill of CARICOM by 25 per cent. So, the initial target is 25 by 2025. And Guyana has leadership in ensuring this target is met,” Ali said, adding that Guyana has presented an action plan to reach the target, while pointing to the importance of food security and agricultural diversification at the national level.
“We have some of the largest distribution companies now ready to bring in the capital to replant coffee, cocoa, to ensure that we become self-sufficient in corn and soya as input costs for feed production for poultry and livestock. And that is where the country is going. In just 20 months, we have embarked on a program of crop diversification.”
Ali is predicting that within two years, Guyana will produce all the corn and soya needed for the feed production for its poultry and livestock sector.
He said also that Guyana and Barbados have collaborated in establishing the first Guyana/ Barbados food terminal as a pilot program that will be replicated throughout the Caribbean.
He said Georgetown is working with Brazil to sign an agreement to enhance Guyana’s livestock breed, expand the production of mutton and mutton products to meet the full regional demand.
“This is the type of transformation I’m talking about. This is where the revenues from oil and gas will go to build other sectors, ensuring other sectors are competitive, ensuring that those sectors are resilient,” he said, reiterating that these opportunities existed in Guyana long before the discovery of oil and gas.
He said that with 30 percent of the world’s wheat taken out of the market, owing to the Russian-Ukraine crisis, global prices have skyrocketed and countries that rely on wheat heavily, like Guyana, are feeling the brunt.
“We have just launched research on finding a wheat variety that can be grown in Guyana, to satisfy our local demand to start with. So that the next generation of Guyanese must not be in a position that we are in today, where we are faced with these shocks and sudden increases in prices. And that is where the resources must go, building… an economy that is resilient and sustainable.”
With regards to the energy sector, President Ali acknowledged that Guyana has the highest cost of energy in the region, which places the country at a disadvantage in the manufacturing and industrial sectors. But he said efforts were underway to reverse that trend.
“We have already committed that by 2025 the cost of energy must be reduced by 50 per cent. And by doing that, it will put Guyana on equal footing to compete with other countries where manufacturing and industrial development plays a vital role,” he said, outlining an energy mix, including natural gas and other renewable forms of energy as the country’s future.
President Ali told the conference that a major macro energy policy which includes Guyana, Northern Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana is being crafted.
“We’re now studying whether we now have the potential to become an energy hub for the Guiana Shield and create a new energy corridor that will supply northern Brazil. So, our energy policy is integrated into the regional energy demand.
“We welcome your investment. We are open, and we are ready to have a conversation on how you can be part of Guyana’s development.”
