The reason Guyana is China’s top trade partner in the Caribbean is because Chinese businesses are aggressive and have been trading with this country even before oil and gas discovery and the numerous opportunities here were known, President Irfaan Ali yesterday said.
And like with many other countries around the globe, Guyana will continue those relationships in the areas of mutual interests, but always seeking what is best for this country and its people, in financial and other decisions made, Ali explained.
At a press conference held yesterday at State House, following a meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken who was on a one-day visit here, Ali was asked by an ABC correspondent, Shannon Crawford, if he saw the partnership with China as an economic one or if there is room for enhanced cooperation, perhaps even on the military front.
The government, through the moderator of the press conference, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Harper, had announced that in the interest of time, only four questions would be taken, and took two from the foreign press and the other two from News Room and the state-owned National Communications Network.
Ali did not address the questions directly but noted that China has a huge influence around the globe and its businesspersons are aggressive in their investment pursuits.
“We are a partner with many countries, and China is one of our development partners. China has a huge footprint globally, and China, the Chinese companies, are very aggressive in the way they do business. They go after opportunity, and that aggression is now being replicated by investors from different parts of the world here in Guyana,” he said.
“The fact is that we were… very little was known of us. Very, very little was known of us – not that we did not exist. The same forest we are celebrating today existed, but we did not have the type of public following or global following that we have today. And sometimes I say that maybe what drives public following is the oil and gas sector, because since oil was discovered, we have seen a very welcome interest from the global community in Guyana”, the President stated.
Ali said that his government was “utilising that interest to showcase Guyana not as an oil and gas producer, but as a country that has the ability to provide strong global leadership on climate change, food security, and energy security.”
Pointing to evidence that Guyana was not focussed on a lone financial partner, but accessed funding from countries with rates and projects it deemed best, he made reference to Guyana’s current investment portfolio from the public sector. “You will see that today, if you go to our partners, UKEF [UK Export Finance] – most of our new projects are coming out of the UKEF – the UKEF financing. We now have a broad portfolio for financing that includes the Middle East. We just concluded programmes from the Islamic Development Bank, programmes from the Saudi Development Fund. We are now working with the Qatari Development Fund, the UAE.”
And with more leverage for negotiations in its oil resource, Guyana has set the terms of which proposals it will accept. “So we have set ourselves some benchmarks in terms of what the cost of financing should be in this market, and also we are not going to borrow on variable rates,” he said.
“Now, it might be surprising to you, but sometimes there is a misconception on the cost of financing, and we believe that in certain parts of the globe the financing is cheaper. That’s not the case today. If you look at the rates that we are getting and where it’s coming from, you’ll be very, very shocked,” he added.
Reiterating his position that the United States was Guyana’s most strategic partner, Ali said that foreign direct investment from that country in Guyana stood at some US$4.2 billion. “This is the highest in history. And if you look at the investment from different countries, this is the highest investment over the last two years.”
More importantly, according to the President, Guyana was now working with the US Exim Bank on “a US$2 billion programming that can be unlocked for Guyana.”
That purse amount was announced in July of last year when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to facilitate greater investment in the country.
The government, had said that the MoU represented an important milestone in US-Guyana relations since it lays the foundation for Guyana to access EXIM financing and facilities for the first time and provides for interventions at a scale that is likely to have a lasting developmental impact. Under the agreement, the parties agreed to explore options for utilising EXIM’s standard instruments, which include direct loans and medium- and long-term guarantees, to finance US exports to Guyana for government projects.
The MoU also identified a number of indicative sectors in which projects may be carried out. These include but are not limited to, infrastructure including roads and bridges, energy, telecommunications, water treatment and sanitation, and agriculture.
It is unclear how far the unlocking process has reached.
Ali said that before the discovery of oil here, investment interests from US companies here were not many. However, both countries aggressively worked to change that and there has been a shift.
“Now, the problem is twofold. I said before publicly that the aggression from the US private sector was not there in terms of going after the opportunities, but as a result of the strong bilateral relationship over the last two years and setting that tone and creating that policy environment and building that trust, we have seen a complete change from the US private sector. And this is as a result of both countries at the policy level saying to the private sector, saying to the investors, ‘There is the opportunity; we are welcoming that opportunity.’ And that has created a positive shift. More and more investment is coming from the US,” he said.
Overall, Ali said that Georgetown continues to seek new ways in expanding the relationship with Washington.
“We share common interests in three very important areas; that is, food security, energy security, and climate security. As you know, Guyana is contributing significantly in all three of these areas. The vision of Guyana is to position our country to be a leader, a global leader on energy security, food security, and climate security. We are seeking to expand our partnership with the US in all of these areas. Whereas we continue to build our energy sector and expand our petroleum production, we have redoubled our efforts to renewable energy here in Guyana and ensuring we meet our target in terms of decarbonisation,” the President asserted.
“…I believe that at this time of our development, the United States as a strategic partner is not only helpful and supportive in the development of Guyana, but, more importantly, they are playing a key role – the private sector of the US also. We have had tremendous investment from the US private sector, and they continue to show greater and greater interest in our country. So we must continue to build a society in which our systems, our institutions are strong, in which our institutions and systems can withstand scrutiny, point to accountability and transparency so that we can continue to present Guyana as a sustainable destination for more US investment.”
For his part, the United States Secretary General repeated much of what he had told CARICOM on Wednesday; that his country was fully committed to building a more prosperous, a more secure, and a more sustainable region.
As it relates to Guyana, he said that this country was integral in the reaching the overall goals set for the region.
During yesterday’s talks, Blinken said that “among the many … we covered today, energy security and climate adaptation were front and centre.”
And for the hours he spent here, he said, “It’s really a pleasure to be here with you to continue our ongoing dialogue, the work that we’re doing together with one of our closest partners in the Caribbean at a moment of such profound transformation, such profound change, such profound hope.”
