“Enormous interest” shown in Guyana at 76th UN General Assembly – President Ali
Following extensive and fruitful engagements at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76) this week, His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said international entities have shown “enormous interest” in Guyana.
The Head of State made his first appearance at the General Assembly this week since assuming office in August last year. His delegation, which includes Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hugh Todd, MP, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud met with the private sector, major financial groups, along with Heads of Government, who all sought a better understanding of Guyana.
Arising from the meetings, the Head of State said, will be a flow of delegations from across the world, that will be visiting Guyana. The delegations will conduct evaluations on the opportunities available in Guyana’s booming oil and gas sector, as well as sectors such as agriculture, the services industries, manufacturing and the diversification of the energy sector.
“From all the meetings, it is clear that Guyana is a high area of focus. Our country is playing on a different stage. Our country is getting a different level of attention. Our country is being focused on and as leaders, we have to ensure that we give clear clarity on where the country is going. Strong leadership is required,” President Ali explained during a virtual press conference, on Friday.
During bilateral meetings, the Head of State addressed the concerns about Guyana’s democracy and the rule of law which took a severe blow during the five-month long attempt by the APNU+AFC to steal the March 2, 2020 General and Regional elections.
“It is clear that persons were following the five months… We had to repair a lot of damage also. We have had to answer a lot of questions in relation to that, but we are very happy that we had the opportunity to do (so) and we were able to present Guyana as a strong emerging market not only for oil and gas but the various opportunities that are coming ahead.”
Engagements with other Heads of State and the Government are also on the agenda, the President said. To this end, he said a delegation led by Dr. Jagdeo will be visiting the West African country of Ghana, following an invitation from His Excellency, Nana Akufo-Addo.
“That is an important engagement in Ghana to deal with the oil and gas sector… and to see how we can have technology transferred and integrated between the two countries.”
Further, President Ali said a delegation led by the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta will be visiting Guyana in a few weeks.
“And of course, we have six or seven delegations out of this week of engagement. We had very good meetings from Prime Ministers to Princes and they too are working on delegations to come to Guyana, and for us to have further engagements with them in the wide cross-section of the economy,” the Head of State noted. Later today, the President and his team will be engaging in more bilateral meetings.