PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali, and a team of high-level government officials, on Tuesday, met with a delegation from the Qatari Investment Mission to advance discussions on investment opportunities in Guyana.
The Qatari Investment Mission representatives were Group Chairman of Power International Holding, Moutaz Al Khayyat; Group Chief Venture Officer of Power International Holding, Ali Kazma and the company’s Chief Business Development Officer, Mazen Alsbeti.
The visiting team was accompanied by Ambassador George Hallaq and Andrew Hallaq.
Other members of Guyana’s team were Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond; Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar; Chief Executive Officer of Go-Invest, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop and Director of Projects in the Office of the President, Marcia Nadir-Sharma.
In 2020, President Ali had met with the Emir of Qatar, His Royal Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and discussed areas for collaboration in the agricultural sector through investments in the Halaal industry, expansion of the housing programme, the strengthening of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and support in other critical sectors including energy, oil and gas, services and infrastructure.
In 2019, Guyana and Qatar signed a Bilateral Air Services agreement which paved the way for future co-operation in investment, in trade, and air travel and also in the movement of people.
Notably, Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait are all major oil-producing countries and Guyana has had diplomatic ties with these counties since the 1990s. With the announcement of its oil finds, Guyana is expected to be ‘on par’ with these countries, on a per-capita basis.
