Historic transformation underway in Guyana
US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch
US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch

–Ambassador Lynch says

THE United States Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch has said that Guyana’s transformation is going to be “absolutely historic,” especially if the country continues to diversify its economy.

The ambassador made these remarks during an appearance on the Plaza Central podcast, where she addressed Guyana’s development trajectory and partnerships with the United States.

Speaking of Guyana’s meteoric rise, Ambassador Lynch stated that Guyana’s growth has been unprecedented and historic.

She added that oil giant ExxonMobil has made over 30 discoveries here, and the country has some 11 billion barrels of oil reserves, which could make Guyana the country with the highest oil reserves per capita in the world.

She noted that while Kuwait is currently in the top spot, Guyana may soon surpass it.

In terms of general growth, Ambassador Lynch said that for this year alone, Guyana is on course to growing almost 60 per cent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recent report. This, she said, is a “staggering” growth for a small nation, and that based on the IMF’s projections, Guyana is on course to growing at about 30 per cent over the next few years.

Ambassador Lynch remarked that much of this growth has been in the oil-and-gas sector, but not exclusively. She told the podcast that Guyana grew at about seven per cent in the non-oil sectors, and is projected to continue its growth at around five per cent per year.

She added: “As long as Guyana diversifies its economy and continues to invest in its infrastructure; invest in key institutions, and, most importantly, invest in its people, I think the transformation will be incredible, and its future very bright.”

Addressing the US’ partnership with Guyana, the ambassador said that the North American nation will continue to work with Guyana in several areas, including governance, economic development and security.

On the governance front, which she expressed is key to the country’s success, she noted that the US has been working with Guyana to improve transparency and accountability.

Lynch said that the US has provided assistance from the US Treasury to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to help with the auditing of large contracts, and to further improve human resourcing efforts.

The ambassador went on to highlight that the US has also worked with Guyana to help improve elections management, along with assisting with improvements in the Judicial system, to digitise cases and more.

On the economic growth front, Ambassador Lynch told the host of the podcast that the US has done quite a lot to highlight the investment opportunities in Guyana, through conferences, trade missions and conferences.

She underscored that the US has also partnered with Guyana to assist in ensuring that certain security assets that are needed in the country to combat transnational crime, and improve border security are there.

“We find that all these things are very welcomed by Guyana; they’re also very important to us. I mean, this is our neighbourhood, so the success of Guyana is our success, and we hope to have an even better partner in the future,” she said.

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