President Ali’s vision, leadership skills have transformed Guyana

Dear Editor,

Since becoming an independent country 57 years ago, most of Guyana’s past presidents from the two major parties have, on numerous occasions, used different strategies to heal the racial divide, unite, and improve the lives of the people; but unlike President Dr Irfaan Ali, they have not succeeded. And the reason is that they did not have the vision and leadership skills and ability like His Excellency, who, since becoming President in August 2020, had the prudence, wisdom, and courage to initiate policies to unite the people and build a prosperous Guyana for all.

The One Guyana initiative is a classic example, and the first of its kind to have ever been introduced in the country to unify the races. It represents a symbol of harmony and integrity of the state at home and abroad.

President Dr Ali’s sound leadership and integrity have provided wide-ranging guidance in several regional matters in food security, nutrition, and influence, which has grown significantly as the country continues to become a global leader in food security, climate security, energy security, and human development. Under His Excellency’s extraordinary and superb leadership, Guyana has risen to the challenge to become a leader in the Caribbean, and he has exerted his influence on the countries to grow more of their own food, increase trade among each other, and reduce regional imports.

According to President Dr. Ali, if these efforts succeed, CARICOM will be able to reduce its more than US$4 billion annual food-importation bill by some 25 per cent by 2025.

The Caribbean Heads of States have supported President Ali’s agenda to reduce the food import bill, and have also agreed to implement measures to boost agricultural production in their respective countries. Such leadership, which is particularly evident among the CARICOM states, has perhaps made Guyana the most recognizable and influential country in the region. This marked a milestone, because it is the first time Guyana has been recognized in the same manner as Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. In the past, these three countries have always been recognized by Europeans and North Americans as tourist destinations due mainly to their beautiful and picturesque beaches.

On the international scene, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has, since taking office three years ago, propelled Guyana into becoming a global leader in several areas, including the environment, climate change, food security, renewable energy sources, and agriculture, among others. It is true that His Excellency has worked tirelessly to position Guyana to contribute significantly to global leadership, and to have a strong influence on the global decision-making process, which was primarily the domain of the developed countries. The move in this direction has been bolstered and fortified by the country being elected to serve as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in June for the term 2024-2025.

Guyana’s candidacy was uncontested, being the sole candidate for a single seat available to Latin America and the Caribbean Region, where it garnered the highest vote count, at 191 out of 192 members of the United Nations General Assembly. It is important to mention that the UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the UN, and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.

Evidence of this superlative achievement has never been achieved before in Guyana since it became independent in May 1966. Today, under the stewardship of President Dr. Ali, Guyana has become one of the most recognized and respected developing countries in the Western Hemisphere, and has attracted an extensive list of more than 75 world leaders, inclusive of heads of Governments from the world’s most influential and powerful nations, such as the United States, Britain, Canada, China, and the European Union, that have either visited Guyana or have had direct bilateral engagements with it.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has indicated that his meeting with US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the 9th Summit of Americas, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of India, and China’s President Xi Jinping, among others, is rock-solid proof of Guyana’s success in achieving widespread respect and influence in the international community. This is a resounding endorsement of the importance and the reason why more world leaders are coming to Guyana as never seen before, because they believe that we as a people can contribute to global leadership and a peaceful and economically stable world.

President Dr. Ali has made it clear that the Government intends to live up to its expectations by ensuring that Guyana plays a major role in reshaping an international system that is fair, just, and equitable, and that the country will continue to seek alliances with other countries but will maintain an independent and principled position by standing up for values established in the UN Charter and in international law.

His Excellency alluded to the many economic cooperation agreements Guyana has with several countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America. The President intoned that these agreements would advance tourism, improve the export of goods and services, and increase investment in energy, manufacturing, and agriculture. These achievements by the President will transform Guyana and move it from an underdeveloped status to a developed country.

Sincerely,
Dr Asquith Rose