Courting…

…Qatar

Prezzie just visited Qatar – following up his previous trip in 2023 – the same year the Qatari Amir (King) dropped in our Mudland to have a first-hand look at the lay of our land!! Whatever he saw must’ve pleased him since from the lull since diplomatic relations were initiated back in 1996, the two Governments identified agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, education, health and investment as areas for cooperation – and signed the enabling agreement to facilitate same!! A Qatari diplomatic presence quickly followed and then we heard about a massive hospitality project in Georgetown’s Thomas Lands area. They also entered a consortium to develop one of our oil blocks.
With our relationship so far advanced, your Eyewitness expects Prezzie’s visit to Qatar should be about more than oil, handshakes and photographs – and the reports of the talks involving the Qatar Development Bank suggests that’s exactly what happened. With Qatar producing oil since the 1950s – and us catching them up at 1.3Mbpd – from their experience in parlaying their oil revenues to become a player in world affairs, we could learn a lot!!
And that’s so because unlike economic giants like the US and China that are vying for our attention, Guyana and Qatar have something important in common: both are small countries that suddenly found themselves with resources capable of transforming their futures!! And they’re an important strategic partner of the US – just as we hope to be!!
But we gotta enter the relationship with a clear idea of our needs. The Qataris got money, technology and experience in turning energy wealth into world-class infrastructure, aviation, hospitality, education and international business. But we got what Qatar cannot easily manufacture – vast agricultural land, abundant fresh water, a growing food-producing sector and a strategic location on South America’s northern shoulder!!
Food security could, therefore, become one of the most practical areas of cooperation – where we can produce more of the rice, vegetables, livestock and other foods that Qatar must now import. Conversely, Qatari investment can help us move beyond exporting raw commodities into modern irrigation, cold storage, food processing and packaging – areas we’re struggling to develop!! As we also are in areas that Qatar has pioneered – developing infrastructure, logistics, tourism, education, and financial services to prevent petroleum from becoming the whole economy!! Our South American location can also provide Qatar with a commercial doorway into markets far removed from Doha!!
The relationship, therefore, shouldn’t be one of “rich country helping poor country”. We ain’t just seeking development assistance – we’re offering land, resources, markets, and strategic location in exchange for capital, expertise, and access!!
The best diplomacy is sometimes simply good business and with Qatar, we’ve got an opportunity to make each other more useful to the world!!

…also, energy expertise
Prezzie has long spoken of us refining our own crude and converting our natural gas into higher-value liquids – and your Eyewitness thinks Qatar’s just the country to help turn those ambitions into practical projects!! Qatar ain’t just another oil producer – they’ve spent decades developing the technology, infrastructure, and expertise to convert oil and gas into value-added products!! This expertise is exactly what we need to monetise our own energy future and so we shouldn’t just be asking Doha to invest – but to teach and partner!!
A refinery’s gonna reduce our dependence on imported petroleum products and increase value of our crude – while gas processing could supply exportable LNG!! The attraction for Qatar is clear – we offer abundant hydrocarbons and a strategic foothold in South America and the Caribbean!!
So instead of reinventing the wheel – or spending billions learning expensive lessons Qatar’s already learned – we could tap into Qatari experience!! The oil boom’s given us the resources –  Qatar can help provide a First World roadmap!!

…criticism
When a high US official repeated US Secty of State Marco Rubio’s mocking reference to Chinese shoddy and delayed projects here, the Chinese Embassy huffily retorted “Ain’t us!!”
What say they to the Chinese-built ECD road with telegraph poles left in the middle??!