“Guyana must remain relevant in this period of global disruption” – Pres Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali has underscored that Guyana must strategically position itself to remain relevant amid a rapidly changing global landscape characterised by conflict, economic shifts, technological advances, and institutional disruption.
In an early morning interview just outside his Main Street, Georgetown, residence this morning, President Ali spoke on the implications of the “new world order”, acknowledging that while global crises, including conflicts in Somalia, Haiti, and Palestine, pose serious challenges, they also offer opportunities for countries to innovate, reform, and strengthen resilience.
“On the surface of it, the world is very troubled. And we live in very troubling times, on the surface of it. But when you dig deep, when you look deep into what we are able to achieve throughout the world, there are so many bright spots and so many changes that are occurring that will change forever the way in which we deal with many challenges. When you look at the level of innovation and technology in dealing with health care, in dealing with education, in dealing with physical infrastructure, and in dealing with the human capital, it is amazing to see the successes that the world is achieving and our innovators are achieving. So, there are a lot of bright spots, but we are so caught up in the challenges of the world,” the president said.
Ali described disruption not as inherently negative but as a catalyst for institutional change and systemic improvement.
“Disruption brings with it also some positive things. You can have institutional change in disruption, you can have improvement of the system, and there is a revaluation of the system to see whether the system is working and where the weaknesses are. So, if you look at the international trade system now, there is a lot of disruption that is taking place… So, ‘disruption’ is not a negative word in this sense. It is understanding the nature of the disruption. So, I think that the world is going through a phase of disruption when you look at global leadership on different issues. AI is disrupting the way and nature in which things are being done. Digitisation is disrupting the norm. And if you can’t adapt to these things, then you will not be able to be competitive. That is why we’ll be building out an AI and digitised infrastructure, not only for Guyana but for the region that will be second to none,” the Head of State noted.
Highlighting Guyana’s strategic position, Ali emphasised the country’s growing economy, stating, “I think that the global system would be tested. And we have to ensure as a country that we remain relevant in this period of disruption. That is why our partners and our allies are very important to us. When you look at where Guyana is heading, where our economy is heading, the nature of the investments in Guyana, and our geographic location, we are very clear on how we support our partners, how we support our allies, and how we will work together with our partners and allies in creating the environment that would ensure the stability, growth, development, and security of Guyana and this region.”