As much as anything else, Guyana’s now accustomed role as host to high-profile regional and global gatherings underscores the acceptance by the international community that the country’s new-found oil economy qualifies it as a place to be when matters of business and investment in the region are under scrutiny. Accordingly, the choice of Guyana as the venue for the July 2024 Caribbean Investment Conference has not found Guyanese surprised.
To state that ‘oil and gas’ has worked wonders for Guyana’s image, regionally and internationally, is to articulate the simple fact. While in terms of the infrastructure and the appurtenances associated with hosting significant international events, Guyana is patently not yet ready, the strategic significance of its petro economy to the potential well-being of the rest of the region has caused it to leap frog the rest of the region overnight. The ‘landmarks’ of an absence of full readiness is evidenced in the ‘chaos’ that attends the frenetic ‘makeover’ of the capital. On the basis of the available evidence illustrated in the country’s now exalted status as a ‘favoured destination’ the wider embracing of Guyana as one of the ‘sweet spots’ in a global society much of which is daubed with doom and gloom is evident.
