Pres signals global investment plans for NRF in Canada address

As Guyana’s oil revenues continue to surge, the government is signalling a major shift in how it manages the country’s growing wealth.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali announced Friday night that Guyana is preparing to move beyond simply accumulating savings in its Natural Resource Fund (NRF), with plans now being explored to invest portions of the fund abroad.

Speaking at the Maple Leaf Gala in Toronto hosted by the Guyana-Canada Business Chambers, President Ali told the diaspora audience that the NRF has reached a point where simply saving was no longer the only option on the table.

“In our sovereign fund, our National Resource Fund, we now have to find investment opportunities, and as the fund grows, we will be looking at opportunities that are safe, give you a decent rate of return and importantly, investing in countries and economies that share the same values where the rule of law and predictability are important factors in the way to do business,” he said.

The NRF, which holds petroleum revenues, received approximately US$3.6 billion as of the end of September 2025. In 2025, the government withdrew US$2.46 billion from the NRF to finance public spending.

In the meantime, the president outlined what the government is already spending at home. He highlighted new developments, including Silica City, industrial parks, port development, and road links to Northern Brazil, Suriname and French Guiana.

Revenues are also invested to expand the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), including the construction of Terminal 2. This will take passenger processing from 800 to 3,200 an hour.

President Ali also pointed to a deep-sea training facility developed with ExxonMobil, a tourism and hospitality institute, and a STEM centre for primary school children, as well as broader commitments to healthcare, home ownership, and pension expansion, all of which will enable Guyanese to enjoy world-class services and opportunities.

Significant resources are also being spent to modernise the agriculture industry, including the introduction of new technologies and the construction of world-class infrastructure to complement the rapid economic expansion.

“That is the Guyana we are building. One in which the careful architecture of the future is built on what we do today,” he said.

The president’s remarks came hours after he held bilateral talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Toronto, where both leaders discussed investment expansion.

Canada, a country that the president called predictable in its policies and values, matches the profile he set for potential partners.

The NRF was established in 2019 and strengthened in 2021 by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration. It manages revenues from Guyana’s offshore oil sector, and the assets are held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.