Pres Ali congratulates President Trump on inauguration

…anticipates stronger bilateral ties between Guyana & US

Extending congratulations to newly inaugurated United States (US) President Donald J. Trump, Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali has expressed optimism for the stronger bilateral ties between the two countries.
Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday at the Rotunda in the center of the US Capitol building. In his congratulations, President Ali also extended best wishes for Trump as he embarks on his second, non-consecutive term.

“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on your inauguration as the 47th President of the United States of America. As you begin a new chapter of your leadership and service, I extend best wishes on this great responsibility.”
“The government of Guyana looks forward to working closely with you and your administration to forge stronger ties between our two nations in the years ahead,” the Guyanese head of state said.
Trump first served as US President from 2016 to 2020, during which Guyana and the US were able to work closely together. The US, under Trump’s leadership, also played an important role in the return of democracy in Guyana.
As the electoral impasse continued months after the March 2020 polls, the international community and the ABCE diplomats had put mounting pressure on the former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) to concede defeat, warning of Guyana facing isolation and consequences.
In fact, the US had gone ahead to impose visa sanctions against several Government and electoral officials, and their immediate family members, for their role in undermining democracy in Guyana.
The UK, Canada as well as the EU had also indicated that they were also considering following suit. The heightened pressure from the West led to APNU/AFC eventually conceding and allowed the Dr Irfaan Ali-led administration to finally take office on August 2, 2020.
The next month, then US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo visited Guyana on a two-day visit, during which he met with President Ali, senior officials of the administration, Head of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretariat and officials from American oil giant, ExxonMobil.
One of the agreements that Pompeo signed with the Guyana Government during his visit was for enhancing US private sector investment in Guyana. During a joint press conference with President Ali, the Secretary of State pointed out that the US will continue to do whatever it can to help American companies be successful.
It had also been announced that they would work on enhancing access and increase opportunities for US companies to engage in fair and transparent business dealings with Guyana. Pompeo had also pointed out that the US is equally interested in seeing the wealth that is created from these opportunities also go to all Guyanese in a transparent and fair way.
Almost three months later, Trump would lose power in the 2020 US presidential election that were held on November 3, 2020 and President Joe Biden subsequently took office as the 46th President of the US.

Biden eventually stood down from running for a second term last year, paving the way for his Vice President, Kamala Harris to be the Presidential candidate. But after a hard-fought campaign, Trump emerged victorious, prompting President Ali and Vice President bharrat Jagdeo to issue congratulations last November.
The US has long been Guyana’s largest trading partner, with accumulated trade of more than US$3.9 billion recorded in 2022. In fact, the US is ranked as Guyana’s number one export and import destination, with exports and imports pegged at some US$2.7 billion and US$1.2 billion respectively in 2022.
Moreover, in July 2023, it was reported that in the previous three years alone, the figure for Foreign Direct Investment from the US to Guyana stood at US$4.2 billion.
Currently, over 100 US-based companies are operating in Guyana, and according to the US Ambassador, this number is growing every day across various sectors in the Guyanese economy.