Pres Ali holds bilateral discussions with Qatar PM, other Ministers

– local investment opportunities discussed with Qatar Chamber of Commerce

In an effort to further strengthen ties between Guyana and Qatar, President Dr Irfaan Ali has had a number of bilateral discussions with top officials of the Middle Eastern country since his arrival there on Sunday.

President Dr Irfaan Ali was accompanied by Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, Guyana’s Ambassador to Qatar Safraaz Shadood and other officials. On Monday, he met with Qatar’s Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who holds the dual portfolios of Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister.
Also attending the meeting was Qatar’s Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari. During the meeting, they discussed various areas of mutual cooperation and how to develop and enhance such areas.
Meanwhile, according to the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, upcoming plans to formally open a Guyanese embassy in Qatar were also discussed. Guyana has for some time been making plans to establish embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, for which money had been allocated in Budget 2021.

While Guyana and Qatar formally established diplomatic relations in 1996, there had only ever been a non-resident Ambassador. The embassy in Doha, Qatar, which has since been completed, is yet to be formally opened.
Bilateral discussions were also had between President Ali and Dr Singh and Qatar’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Abdullah Al Thani in Doha.
President Ali meanwhile also held bilateral discussions with Qatar’s Chamber of Commerce. The chamber was represented by its First Vice Chairman, Mohamed Bin Ahmed Bin Twar Al-Kuwari, while President Ali was joined by Dr Singh. During the discussions, the various investment opportunities in Guyana were discussed.
The discussions focused on investment opportunities in Guyana in sectors that include oil and gas, infrastructure, tourism, services, hospitality, and agriculture. According to the chamber following the discussions, “Ali called on Qatari investors and businessmen to invest in his country and benefit from opportunities in many sectors, mainly in oil and gas, infrastructure, tourism, services, hospitality, agriculture and others.”
It was explained that during the discussions at the Sheraton Hotel, bilateral relations in the economic and commercial fields were reviewed and ways to enhance them were discussed. Additionally, the investment climate and available opportunities on both sides, as well as the role of the private sector in pursuing trade between the two countries were discussed.

Energy
President Ali, accompanied by his Finance Minister, also met with Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi. Last October, Al Kaabi had led a delegation to Guyana to explore various opportunities here.
During Al-Kaabi’s visit, discussions between the two countries centred on potential collaboration in the areas of energy, food, infrastructure and aviation. In April 2022, President Ali and his team also met with a delegation from the Qatari Investment Mission to advance discussions on investment opportunities in the country.
The Qatari Investment Mission representatives were the Group Chairman of Power International Holding, Moutaz Al Khayyat; the Group Chief Venture Officer of Power International Holding, Ali Kazma and the company’s Chief Business Development Officer, Mazen Alsbeti.
Also, in November 2021, President Ali had met with senior officials of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – the sovereign wealth fund of the Middle Eastern State. The visiting team comprised of two QIA Executives, Abdulhadi F A Al-Hajri and Dany Farah Nakhoul. Their visit was a follow-up to talks started by President Ali and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
During that meeting, the Guyanese Head of State had highlighted Government’s desire to make Guyana the hub for agriculture and food security within the Region and further afield. He also pointed to the numerous opportunities in other sectors that would promote the overall growth and development of Guyana.
The State of Qatar is among several Middle Eastern nations that expressed serious interest in investing in various sectors in Guyana during President Ali’s visit in 2021 for the Dubai World Expo.
In February this year, it was announced that Guyana would be receiving help with the oil and gas sector from Qatar. Specifically, Qatar would be helping Guyana create a gas utilisation and monetisation plan, which will be applicable when the gas-to-energy project is commissioned. (G-3)