Pres Ali talks up investment opportunities to drive Guyana’s growth with Diaspora in UK

– outlines Govt’s agenda to make Guyana self-sufficient

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday morning engaged with a number of Guyanese living in England at the Guyana High Commission in London.
The Head of State travelled to the United Kingdom last week to attend the Coronation Ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey in London on Saturday.

During his engagement with the Guyanese diaspora, President Ali outlined the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration’s agenda to make Guyana self-sufficient in food, infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and energy by 2030.

According to a brief statement on his Facebook page, the Guyanese leader presented a video detailing his Government’s plans for economic development and initiatives to develop local communities and municipalities.
The President also thanked the diaspora for its contributions to Guyana’s development. In the same breath, however, he reminded the members of the Guyanese diaspora they are an important source of investment, expertise, and ideas that could help drive the country’s growth and development.
President Ali was accompanied by High Commissioner of Guyana to the UK, Dr Rajendra Singh. Also, there was legendary Guyanese World Cup-winning captain, Sir Clive Lloyd among other officials.
The Head of State last engaged the Guyanese diaspora in England back in November 2021 while attending the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 in the United Kingdom (UK).
Meanwhile, during his current visit to London, the President has already held several high-level bilateral engagements with his counterparts from across the world, to discuss potential collaborations in a wide range of areas.
On Thursday, he met with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The areas of discussion during that engagement included the efforts being made by the Government of Guyana to modernise governance systems for improved efficiencies in services, policy formulation and the use of technology to advance these efforts.
The two officials also discussed finding ways to work together in positioning Guyana as a major global player in climate, food, and energy security.
Also on Thursday, the Guyanese leader held bilateral discussions with the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. Their engagement focused on advancing government-to-government collaboration in several areas including energy, technology, health services and urbanisation. Both Presidents have visited each other’s countries in recent years to further strengthen ties between their nations.
In fact, only last year, Presidents Ali and Kagame held fresh talks on cooperation in pharmaceutical production following the disparities in COVID-19 vaccines supplied to developing countries during the pandemic.
Previously, President Ali had stated that, like Rwanda, Guyana is hoping to have a vaccine manufacturing facility set up here sometime in the future especially since the country is aiming to become a medical hub in the Caribbean.
Then on Thursday evening, President Ali and the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, attended a working dinner hosted by the Chief Executive Officer of UPL Limited, Jai Shroff in London. During the event, discussions were held on food security and agriculture.
Shroff was recently part of a high-level delegation that accompanied Indian External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during a visit to Guyana last month.
UPL, an India-based leading provider of sustainable agriculture solutions, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture for the establishment of a 200-acre ‘Millets Model Farm’ here.
The MoU will see UPL Limited providing technological and agricultural inputs while the Guyana Government, through the Agriculture Ministry, will assist with developing approximately 200 acres for the cultivation of millet in Regions Four, Nine and 10.
Only last week, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha indicated that they are currently awaiting technical support from India to begin the project.
“We have already earmarked some land and I am now waiting on [India’s] side to provide the technical support and also the seed. We will start in a phased approach and I have asked that India provide the technical support and the help and also the seed, so very shortly we will start some form of millet production,” the Agriculture Minister told this publication.
Millets are a highly varied group of small seeds and cereal crops. They are a powerhouse of nutrients, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fibres. Based on the required environmental conditions for millet germination, Guyana is considered an ideal zone for the growth and development of the seed.
Importantly, millet production would open up additional avenues for economic advancement, providing a new market for export. (G-3)