Pres Ali, US Under Secretary discuss areas of cooperation on energy, environment

…series of meetings held with US leaders on Capitol Hill

The Guyanese delegation led by President Dr Irfaan Ali on Thursday met with the US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Jose Fernandez, to discuss areas of cooperation relative to energy and the environment.

President Ali and a team of top Government officials are currently in Washington DC, and have been participating in a series of high-level engagements in the United States’ Capital. During Thursday’s meeting with Under Secretary Fernandez, the discussions were centred on identifying strategic areas of cooperation.
The Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment leads the US State Department’s efforts to develop and implement international policies related to economic growth, energy, agriculture, the ocean, the environment, and science and technology.
President Ali was accompanied by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Hugh Todd; Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, and Guyana’s Ambassador to the United States, Samuel Hinds, during the meeting.
Already, the US and Guyana have been cooperating on climate change issues, including protection of the environment and sustainable development. In fact, only Wednesday, a $2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Guyana and the US EXIM (Export/Import) Bank that would allow for funding for a range of projects, including in the renewable energy sector.
Following that signing, the Head of State pointed out that this funding would go a long way towards aiding Guyana to be a leader in the areas of climate change and food security.
“The areas that were identified show the broad, multi-faceted nature of the leadership of EXIM Bank. Anyone looking out on Guyana now narrowly focus on oil and gas at their own detriment, because the country has significant other distinct advantages in becoming the leader on climate change and environmental and biodiversity services for food security and agriculture — critical infrastructural links that can unlock tremendous potential for the vast array of natural resources we have,” Ali has stated.
Meanwhile, President Ali and his delegation commenced a series of meetings with US leaders at Capitol Hill on Thursday. They engaged in discussions with Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine.
He was joined by a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was one of the Capitol Hill officials to call for democracy to prevail in Guyana two years ago when the country was locked in a five-month political and electoral impasse following the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections. He had called on then President under the APNU/AFC regime to “honour the will of the Guyanese people and concede.”
Additionally, the Guyanese Leader also met with Democratic Senator Cory Booker on Thursday, and they discussed enhancing Guyana-US relations at Capitol Hill.
Senator Booker commended President Ali on his leadership and developmental plans for Guyana.
Senator Booker, the first African-American US Senator from New Jersey, made a commitment to advance issues of mutual interest as a member of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Over the past week, President Ali has been meeting with top US officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to advance bilateral relations between the two countries.
During Wednesday’s teleconference with VP Harris, the discussions held were beneficial not only to the two countries, but to the entire Caribbean Community (Caricom) region.
“This conversation with the Vice President and President started at the Summit of the Americas. It has advanced rapidly. So, I will say that our conversation today was refreshing. It was beneficial, both to Guyana and the US and Caricom. It confronted the big issues, it was very frank and open, very respectful, and it outlines the vision and supports the vision that I’ve been talking about,” President Ali said about his discourse with the US Vice President.
In a social media post after the engagement, VP Harris said discussions were held on cooperation in the areas of energy and food security, among other issues.
Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State had said that Guyana has been a very strong partner for the United States, and is in many ways a global leader. The two countries, he added, would continue to advance discussions and collaboration in areas of cooperation.
Blinken hinted that, in the weeks ahead, several initiatives between the two countries would materialise, particularly in regard to climate change and energy, which have been important topics during this current visit to deepen bilateral engagements.
The United States, Blinken had emphasised, is “very eager to continue to deepen and strengthen the partnership,” which would also redound to the benefit of the region, given that Georgetown, the country’s capital, is also the seat of Caricom. (G8)