Diaspora integral to nation-building – President Ali says at opening of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention

The Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali-led Administration is aggressively building a diaspora relationship that fits its goals and aspirations, even as the nation continues to witness drastic development in every sector.

With a diaspora integration model now on stream, President Ali strongly believes that diasporas must not be treated as entities that are peripheral to nationhood, since they are integral to any nation’s development.

The head of state was at the time addressing the inaugural session of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023 convention in India on Monday.

“We look to our diaspora to project our external interests, including to protect our democracy and to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty, particularly from external threats. We look to our diaspora to champion the international causes which are germane to our national interests, including arresting climate change. Indeed, we also look to our diaspora to wield its influence in attracting and unlocking markets for our products,” President Ali underscored.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with India, Guyana has benefitted from robust cooperation in the fields of agriculture, diplomacy, education, health, Information Communications Technology (ICT) and housing.

The Guyanese leader believes that it is important for the two countries to continuously share their experiences in engaging with their respective diasporas.

Guyana is now in a much stronger economic position than it has ever been.

The country is now the fastest-growing economy in the world, registering a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 19.9 per cent in 2021, and an estimated growth of more than 50 per cent in 2022.

President Ali said with Guyana’s economic opportunities and potential, it welcomes full participation from India’s private sector.

He said too, “the country’s economy is in a full take-off mode for development, this transformative stage of economic development is spanning massive economic opportunities across almost all sectors of the economy.”

Dr Ali said his government’s intention is to position Guyana to be among the leaders in the world in the areas of energy, climate and food security, and freshwater, as well as the best healthcare services, and India is an important strategic partner in Guyana achieving this goal.

He noted that Guyana is pushing its ‘One Guyana’ agenda that promotes unity and prosperity amongst all Guyanese.

As such, the president stressed that when policies are being crafted it is important to integrate the diaspora.  

Moreover, he underscored that if the diaspora is to become more integrated with national development it must benefit from accurate and updated information.

“It is, therefore, essential to establish platforms for the provision of accurate and timely delivery of information to the members of the diaspora and to counteract misinformation,” the head of state stressed.

The president is thankful for the tremendous support India has given to Guyana, pointing directly to the aid provided during the devastating period of the ongoing COVID-19.

“I am very proud of your work… of your demonstration of what real love at home should look like”, President Ali said.

He stated that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is an important platform to fostering deeper and stronger ties among states which have significant diasporas. President Ali is on an Official State visit to India. He is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugh Todd, Minister within the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry Anand Persaud, and other officials.