— President Ali tells Congressman Jeffries

PRESIDENT, Dr. Irfaan Ali has taken US Congressman Hakeem Jeffries to task after he failed to respond to an invitation to meet with him last week during his visit to Washington DC.

The President called out the seemingly Opposition-aligned Congressman while delivering remarks on Sunday at the sod-turning ceremony for the Paediatric and Maternal Hospital, at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara

Congressman Jeffries, the US Representative for New York’s Eighth Congressional District since 2013 has been expressing views that are critical of the government.

Given the Congressman’s concerns, the President noted that he had instructed that an invitation be sent for a meeting with Jeffries while he and his delegation were in the US.

“Let me be clear on this. This President asked the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Ambassador Hinds [Guyana’s ambassador to the US) to write him [Congressman Jeffries] inviting him to a meeting.”

The Congressman; however, according to the President, never replied to the invitation.

“He has not responded to the ambassador’s invitation. Ask yourself why? If you have all these concerns why you haven’t attended a meeting you were invited to?” the President questioned.

“Stop playing politics with the future of a country. This President will not allow it. I will speak about it and in stronger terms I’ll speak about it,” he said.

Other Congressional members have lauded the President for his visionary leadership. During his visit to the US, the President was bestowed with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

The recognition of the 18th District of Texas to President Ali recognises his election victory as a “triumph of democracy” while praising his vision for the Guyanese people.

President Ali was in the US last week with a high-level delegation, which included Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo. While there, he met with several high-level US officials to advance the strategic shared interest between the two countries.

Coming out of the meetings, Guyana signed a historic US$2B agreement with the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the United States in Washington.

The agreement represents an important milestone in US-Guyana relations since it lays the foundation for Guyana to access EXIM financing and facilities for the first time and provides for interventions on a scale that is likely to have a lasting developmental impact.