GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (DPI) – President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has underscored the significance of Guyana’s ambitious economic diversification strategy even as global economic shocks is anticipated due to policy changes in the United States and its influence on major economies.
During Sunday’s episode of the Energy Perspective Podcast, president Ali said while Guyana is among the fastest-growing economies, it is still interrelated with regional and global markets that is facing numerous challenges.
Guyana’s economy can be impacted with the US pushing to expand oil and gas exploration. President Ali said Guyana must proactively plan for such factors, ensuring long-term stability beyond oil and gas.
“That is what we have been communicating to the Guyanese people from day one. That is, we have to be responsible in the way we manage the resources from oil and gas. And that is why it is so critical for us to pursue economic diversification and build out other segments and sectors of our economy,” president Ali stated.
As a matter of fact, the government has been injecting oil revenues to expand infrastructure, health, education, housing and other social services, and importantly, to position Guyana as a major hub for food production.
President Ali highlighted concerns over rising food prices which could result from labour shortages in the United States due to immigration policies and severe weather patterns.
In response to this predicted issue, president Ali outlined that his government has made heavy investments in sustainable agriculture, agro-processing and modern farming technologies such as hydroponics.
“And all of this is not only to create local opportunities, but it is to respond to global challenges. So, when we are building the economy here – it is not built in isolation of the realities globally,” the head of state said.
The 2025 national budget directly mitigates these challenges, as the government has maintained pre-COVID freight rates for import duties. The president emphasised that these measures will effectively remove the economic burden from consumers. The government has allocated provisions to address bottle-neck challenges in the Demerara River, allowing large ships to commute on Guyana’s shores.
“We are working now with the private sector to have a model that would have a long-term solution to this issue of dredging and the issue of having a draft that is consistently at low tide and high tide…so that large ships can come in,” president Ali disclosed.
The head of state also reiterated the importance of regional collaboration for economic growth, highlighting the investment in constructing the Linden to Mabura Hill roadway that will connect Guyana with Northern Brazil. This substantial investment, president Ali noted, will create additional avenues for collaboration and enhance trade opportunities, thereby integrating Guyana’s economy with regional supply chains.
And with energy prices set to significantly decrease, due to the transformative gas-to-energy project at Wales in Region Three, the president said it is time to articulate a plan on the type of transport and logistics development needed.
“We have to look at, not only the large industries, but look at all the micro and medium-sized enterprises that can be developed out of this great potential,” president Ali asserted, Trinidad and Tobago as an example which utilised revenues from its oil for cheap energy costs that developed a strong manufacturing and agro-processing sectors.
According to him, by enhancing food production and the manufacturing and agro-processing industry, the government aims to create wealth, jobs, and resilience against economic shocks. This topic was among a number of issues discussed in the 50-minute-long podcast that can be found on the presidential official social media platform.
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