Congratulations are extended to HE President Mohamed Irfaan Ali who last night (December 5, 2024) was awarded by the Wilson Center’s Latin America Program for his efforts in environmental and biodiversity sustainability as well as climate action. This latest award by a world-renowned institution adds to the impressive list of international awards that Dr. Irfaan Ali has accumulated in just about four years as Guyana’s President.
Since 1998, the Wilson Center has recognized exemplary individuals with the Woodrow Wilson Awards. At dinner ceremonies held from Toronto to Tokyo and San Francisco to São Paulo, the Wilson Center honors those who through thoughtful discussion, generous philanthropy, and selfless service have made the world a better place for all of us. Last night, at a dinner ceremony in Miami, the Wilson Award was presented to President Irfaan Ali of Guyana.
As a Guyanese I felt enormous pride as I watched the event. All of Guyana must have been proud watching our President continue to solidly place Guyana on the global stage in a positive, exemplary manner.
The Wilson Center acknowledges that in every nation, there are great men and women who have, by the strength of their character and their own accomplishments, become ingrained in the citizenry’s consciousness. They are thinkers, doers, and risk-takers who have overcome adversity, found success, and stood up for the common good. Such leaders and their legacies reflect the values of the United States’ 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, who believed that, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.”
I remembered when Cheddi Jagan died, people doubted that anyone from Guyana would ever again command the global respect Cheddi Jagan had achieved. Bharat Jagdeo came and proved with his many international awards that Guyana will continue to provide men and women who have, by the strength of their character and their own accomplishments, become ingrained in the citizenry’s consciousness. When Bharat Jagdeo could not run again for the position of President, we doubted we could find anyone who could carry on where Bharat Jagdeo left. Dr. Irfaan Ali has shown that Guyana will always find leaders who will work for the success of our country.
The Wilson Award is one of the most prestigious International awards. Among past awardees have been heads-of-state such as John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia; Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada; A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India; Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil; Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada; Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil; and Lee Kuan Yew, Prime Minister of Singapore.
Other awardees included Hillary Clinton, First Lady of the United States, United States senator, United States Secretary of State and a past presidential candidate; Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States; Queen Noor Al Hussein, Queen of Jordan; William Cohen, United States senator, United States Secretary of Defense, Dianne Feinstein, United States senator, John Glenn, astronaut and United States senator; John McCain, United States senator; Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States senator; Henry Kissinger, National Security Advisor and United States Secretary of State; Dolly Parton, entertainer, philanthropist; David Petraeus, United States Army general; Colin Powell, United States Army general and United States Secretary of State and Ahn Sang-Soo, former mayor of Incheon.
During his address at the award ceremony, President Ali reiterated his and Guyana’s call for the establishment of an economic model to ensure that countries like Guyana are able to acquire adequate financial support to not just maintain its crucial biodiversity and standing forests but also enhance the lives of its people.
At international fora like COP28, COP 29, Guyana continued its appeal to world leaders to advance discussions on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which pertains to market mechanisms for carbon trading to stabilize carbon credit prices and incentivize greater participation from both buyers and sellers. This has been a recurring call by Guyana at different fora across the world. At COP 29, slow progress was made in this regard.
President Ali advanced, during his address at the Wilson Center’s dinner session that Guyana’s forests, part of the vast Amazon and the Guiana Shield, in addition to being part of the solution in fighting climate change because of its storage of more than 19 gigatons of carbon dioxide, is a rich environment for biodiversity.
In leading a global initiative to protect biodiversity, Guyana is soon to establish an International Centre for Biodiversity in partnership with two of the world’s top universities, Harvard and Oxford. President Ali urged the Wilson Center to become a partner in this initiative.
The President also again announced the formation of a global alliance for biodiversity which will be launched in Guyana in 2025. In launching the biodiversity alliance, Guyana is looking to move beyond carbon markets to create new opportunities for biodiversity protection. President Ali stressed the urgency of moving beyond talk and into action, and reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that Guyana leads by example.
The Wilson Center Award is only the latest of many awards that Guyana’s president has accumulated. In July this year, in an acknowledgment of his exceptional leadership, President Irfaan Ali was bestowed with the prestigious Caribbean Global Awards 2024 for his contributions within the region. Earlier in 2024, he was awarded the esteemed Global Africa Leadership Award during an official visit to Ghana. In April this year, President Dr. Irfaan Ali was conferred with the Legacy Award Class of 2024 at the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI)’s 27th Annual Awards Gala in New York. During the award, President Ali was lauded for his leadership and vision and commitment to nation building and as a champion for regional cooperation by Guyanese-born American actress, CCH Pounder.
In January 2023, during an official visit to India, President Irfaan Ali was bestowed with the highest honor conferred on overseas Indians – the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) – for the year 2023 by Prime Minister Modi.
In November 2023, during the 57th Independence Anniversary and the 2nd Republican Day anniversary for Barbados, Prime Minister Mia Mottley bestowed President Ali with the prestigious Order of Freedom of Barbados, the country’s highest national award. The award recognized President Ali’s outstanding contributions to regional integration and his unwavering commitment to fostering social and economic partnerships within the Caribbean community.
In May 2023, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) awarded President Ali as the first recipient of the IICA Award for Contribution to Food Security and Sustainable Development. IICA presented the award in recognition of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s leadership in agricultural transformation, food security and support for building resilient economies in a sustainable manner in Guyana and the Caribbean. IICA recognized the President’s support and commitment to public agendas related to issues such as regional integration, rural connectivity, social inclusion in the countryside and gender equality, all of which are central areas of IICA’s work.
President Ali has been one of the most sought-after global leaders to international conferences and by universities. He continues to inspire not only people in Guyana, but around the world. No matter what our political affiliation, Guyanese should be proud of what a young Guyanese man who came from humble circumstances have achieved.