The government is crafting a migration policy to meet the labour demands of Guyana’s transforming economy.
This is according to President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
Speaking in a special interview with journalist Kiana Wilburg on Guyana-Qatar relations, the president said the country is already depending on foreign workers to sustain its growth, particularly in construction.
“Can you imagine a construction sector without the foreign workers now?” he asked.
The head of state pointed to Qatar, which built its economy with the help of imported talent, noting that the Gulf nation sits close to large labour markets in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Phillipines, and China.
“Here in Guyana, we are far away from large labour markets. But as a matter of necessity, we now have labour that is being imported,” he said.
President Ali projected that the number of people entering Guyana for business, leisure and work will climb sharply by the end of the decade.
“I see an economy by 2030 where at least three million people willl be passing through this economy…And that by itself creates it own demand,” he said.
He explained that the new policy must be able to supply the human capital needed as Guyana brings its natural gas onshore to power new industries, including a large-scale urea plant, an alumina plant and hyperscale date centres.
“We have to have a flexible, dynamic, modern migration policy to deal with what would be our needs and requirements in the future,” President Ali stated.
The head of state also said Guyanese overseas are central to the plan, with many already returning home to open businesses and find their place in the country’s development.