More than four international delegations will visit Guyana in the coming days, and none of them is chasing oil and gas. They want to invest in tourism, food production, manufacturing and value creation.
This was disclosed by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali last Saturday during the commissioning of new aircraft for Jags Aviation at Ogle, East Coast Demerara.
During his remarks, President Ali linked the country’s growing investor profile to years of planning and what he called the discipline to work hard and act collectively.
“The world is discovering a Guyana that is completely different,” he said.
President Ali used the moment to set out how Guyana intends to position itself in the regional economy. The country will not settle for being a buyer of finished goods, he said, but will compete as a producer and price-setter.
The president said he wants more of the goods sold in Guyana to be produced locally and is encouraging regional manufacturers to establish operations in the country. He pointed to the government’s agri-processing incentives, which he said are unmatched elsewhere in the region.
The president added that Region Nine is being positioned as a major agro-processing hub to supply markets in northern Brazil, while emerging opportunities in Haiti and Cuba could provide additional export destinations for investors who move early.
“We cannot go forward without value creation and manufacturing in this country,” he underscored.