Guyana – US, CARICOM explores investments

By Caribbean News Global contributor

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Ambassador-Designate to Washington, United States of America Samuel A.A Hinds, former president and prime minister of Guyana, met Thursday, May 27, with the chief executive officer of GO-Invest, Dr Peter Ramsaroop; meanwhile, prime minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, called for CARICOM member states to receive improved and prioritised access to pubic, grant-based and investment funding to support a “CARICOM energy revolution”.

Ambassador-Designate to Washington and GO-Invest CEO meet to discuss investment opportunities

Ambassador-Designate Hinds and Dr Ramsaroop examined areas of interest with the Federal Government of the USA and its agencies, according to the Department of Public Information, Guyana (DPI).

“The discussions focused on the marketing of various investment opportunities Guyana has with the USA in the areas of Agriculture, ICT, Manufacturing, Banking and Finance. These opportunities are in keeping with president Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s national development agenda, which is guiding the administration’s developmental plans across the country.”

Dr Ramsaroop highlighted the need for Guyana to maximise on all opportunities across key sectors, pointing to the nexus between “our national transformation agenda and investors’ interests in Guyana,” as outlined by president Ali, to achieving a prosperous Guyana.

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips calls for funding to support energy revolution in the Caribbean

The prime minister, who is the chairperson of the CARICOM Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED), made the call while delivering remarks at a virtual high-level meeting with CARICOM ministers responsible for energy, heads of international financial institutions, bilateral development partners, and the private sector.

“We are of the firm view that a front-loaded and fast-tracked investment surge is urgently needed to achieve, within the next five to ten years, what may have otherwise taken 30 years because time is of the essence,” prime minister Phillips announced, “the region requires an average of US$5.3 billion in private and public investments for its push towards energy security.”

He added: “Guyana requires US$1.1 billion for a range of energy projects which are expected to add 230 megawatts of renewable generation capacity to the country’s electricity mix. These projects include the modernisation of the electricity grid, hydropower generation and the inclusion of rooftop solar photovoltaic power. This would simultaneously improve our energy security, reduce energy pricing, and reduce carbon emissions from the power sector, among other things.”

The news comes as “The ‘CARICOM energy revolution’ will not only allow CARICOM countries to play the leadership role that we’ve assumed, in global climate mitigation efforts – recognising that collectively, we contribute less than 0.2 percent of greenhouse gas emissions – but also facilitate our ability to implement some of the measures that are necessary for our climate adaptation. These externalities have consistently eroded the modest economic gains made by some, and in many instances, exacerbates our inability to attract the right quantity and quality of financing for investments”.

Prime minister Phillips noted among other structures that, “Countries can recover better from the various exogenous shocks, including those that are caused by climate events and the COVID-19 pandemic, through an accelerated clean energy transition that, inter alia, delivers long term economic growth and job creation.

According to the prime minister, Guyana is eagerly awaiting the expressions of interest on, “our proposal, that will emerge from this meeting, and, more so, the collective actions that will follow in the years to come. Our citizens continue to depend on us for solutions. Let us not let them down, on this occasion”.

The high-level meeting on energy financing among CARICOM ministers responsible for energy, heads of international financing institutions, bilateral development partners and the private sector, was held on May 27, 2021.

 – With a file from (DPI)

Further Information: 

CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque full remarks is available here.