80-member Saudi delegation in Guyana today to explore investment opportunities

As Guyana continues to attract more interest from countries and companies around the world, the country will field a large delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this weekend to advance talks and collaboration in both the public and private sectors.

The almost 80-member delegation, which includes high-level Government representatives such as Deputy Ministers, is slated to arrive in Guyana today for the two-day visit. The executives from other State agencies such as Saudi Development Fund and Saudi Aramco along with major private companies will also be a part of the contingent.
Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh told Guyana Times on Friday that a major investment forum is slated to be held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) in Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. This will facilitate local public and private sector stakeholders being linked with their Saudi Arabian counterparts to explore areas of mutual benefit and cooperation.
“Recognising the remarkable potential of Guyana in particular, they have decided to field a Guyana specific mission… And we will have a dedicated Saudi Arabia-Guyana investment engagement [because] we have a number of very important Government agencies… We have also a number of very high-level representatives of large Saudi private sector companies,” he explained.
Today’s engagement will feature a plenary that will see an address by President Dr Irfaan Ali as well as presentations by several Guyanese Ministers.
“We will have sectorial presentations by a number of Ministers articulating sectoral developments and investment opportunities in their sectors, and then we will have a dedicated period for bilateral engagements – sector to sector, industry to industry and business to business as well,” the Finance Minister disclosed.
The large Saudi delegation will be travelling to Guyana from the Dominican Republic where they had attended the recently concluded Saudi-Caribbean Investment Forum.
Several Guyanese companies from the construction, oil and gas, manufacturing, and tourism sectors had participated in the event and showcased investment-ready projects to Saudi investors.
Last weekend, President Ali met with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Member of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir in Suriname and extended an invite to visit Guyana. The two officials had held preliminary discussions on a number of areas of cooperation including investment, energy, logistics, food security, climate and regional development.
These and other topics will be up for discussions when the visiting delegation arrives here today.
In recent years, there has been mounting interest from oil-rich Middle Eastern nations in strengthening ties with Guyana, a new oil producer.
Only in February, Prince Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir was in Guyana to advance bilateral relations. Days prior, President Ali had held a meeting with another visiting team from Saudi Arabia at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown following the opening of the inaugural International Energy Conference and Expo, which was held in Georgetown.
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, had joined the meeting virtually. The visiting delegation, which was here for the Energy Conference, was led by the Arab nation’s Governor of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Adeeb Al Aama.
The increasing interest in Guyana’s blooming oil and gas industry from Middle Eastern States was reflected in the fact that a Saudi Arabian company, Aramco Trading Limited, was awarded a one-year contract to lift Guyana’s share of oil from the Stabroek Block after coming out with the best responsive bid during evaluation last year.
The 12-month deal to market Guyana’s oil runs from September 2021 to August, 2022. Additionally, the company was also awarded a single-lift for last September to avoid the country having to forfeit its one million barrels of crude.
Moreover, Guyana and Saudi Arabia signed an Air Services Agreement in May to promote and facilitate the expansion of international air services opportunities between the two countries. (G8)