Guyana can be gateway for African investments into South America – Pres Ali

…says investors could have access to market of over 400 million customers

Fresh off his receipt of the African Prosperity Champions Award, President Dr Irfaan Ali had mapped out the potential for closer regional trade ties between South America and Africa, including a vision of Guyana being Africa’s investment gateway to the region.
During a recently aired interview with African Prosperity Network, President Ali said that the unique position Guyana occupies, geographically. Guyana also has linguistic advantages, as the only official English-speaking country on the continent. The President also noted that Guyana could help Africa access a market of over 400 million people.
“Guyana stands at the most important geographic space. Because we’re the gateway to South America. And we also are part of Caricom. Now Guyana allows African investment to have access to a market of over 400 million. And that is markets we have trade agreements with.”

“It opens up all of South America to African investors. And with the type of investments taking place in our country, where we’re trying to put Guyana as a leader on climate, food and energy, Africa can play a key role. And we do have best practices right in Guyana,” President Ali said.
President Ali also referenced Guyana’s oil and gas industry and the help that Ghana has provided the country. The two countries officially established diplomatic relations on May 14, 1979 Ghana has in the past offered assistance to Guyana in the area of oil and gas… assistance which Guyana has taken up in various areas, including in crafting Local Content legislation.
“We had a huge discovery of oil and gas. And our entire local content legislation was built off of the Ghana model. So, we did not go anywhere else. We came right to Ghana and we took that model,” President Ali said.
President Ali was conferred with the prestigious Global African Leadership Award in January, in recognition of his strong and transformational leadership, during the Africa Prosperity Champions Awards and Presidential Gala Dinner in Ghana.
Only last year, the first Ghanaian Chamber of Commerce was commissioned in Guyana. The organisation will allow the two countries to connect businesses and foster investment which would drive further economic growth locally.
Last year also, a Ghanaian delegation led by Gabby Otchere-Darko, Chairman of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, alongside President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, Clement Osei Amoako, and Director of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce in Guyana, Loveland White, along with other Private Sector officials, met with their Guyanese counterparts.
According to a subsequent statement from the Private Sector Commission (PSC), the discussions centred around the extensive opportunities present in Guyana, and the potential for trade. It was also acknowledged that Ghana, which is an oil-producing country with the potential of over 170,000 barrels of oil per day, could offer valuable expertise and advice to support Guyana in the oil and gas sector.
And in 2019, Guyana and Ghana had signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding for trading relations and information sharing between the two states. Back in December 2021, Ghanaian Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia visited Guyana, during which several bilateral cooperation agreements were signed to further improve relations between the two countries.
During that visit, Dr Bawumia and delegation engaged in high-level bilateral discussions at both the Government and Private Sector levels, including engagements with President Irfaan Ali, Prime Minister Mark Phillips, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, and other Ministers of Government.
Vice President Bawumia also met with members of the Ghanaian Diaspora, and paid a visit to the University of Guyana. Vice President Bawumia’s visit follows on the heels of the three-day visit VP Jagdeo paid to Ghana in October that year, wherein he held talks with his Ghanaian counterpart. Following those discussions, he had announced that Ghanaian experts would be reviewing Guyana’s draft local content legislation.
During Jagdeo’s meeting with the Ghanaian Vice President, they had also spoken about the initiatives that Ghana implemented to further its industrial agenda and develop its non-oil economy.
In October of last year, it was also announced that the African Export-Import (Exim) Bank had approved a $500 million loan to Guyana for its infrastructure development needs, in addition to the US$15 million that was at the time being negotiated for small and medium-sized local businesses.
These were among the announcements made during the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum, which was held at the Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana, from October 30 to October 31, 2023. (G3)