–President Ali says at 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in India

PRESIDENT Dr. Irfaan Ali has said that as Guyana’s economy continues to rise, the government is seeking to craft policies that will integrate the diaspora in the national development process.
The Head of State made those remarks on Monday as he addressed the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in India.

Dr. Ali, who was the Chief Guest, said that Guyana has observed keenly India’s management of relations with its diaspora, and will incorporate what has been learnt as the country embarks on enhancing engagements with its own diaspora, which is scattered across the globe.

The President went on to say that it is important that countries continuously share experiences in engaging their respective diasporas.
Noting that Guyana itself has a large diaspora, which is ranked as one of the largest in the world, in terms of its share of the national population, President Ali said that one report even went as far as to suggest that 40 per cent of all Guyanese live overseas.

And with the traditional approach to diaspora relations tending to favour remigration, remittances and family-based tourism, albeit with mixed results, President Ali readily conceded that remittances have, undoubtedly, contributed to providing economic support for thousands of Guyanese families, and attracted skilled persons to return and provide the country with critical skills to rebuild the economy and establish enterprises.

But, he cautioned, things are beginning to change, as Guyana is now much stronger economically, to the extent that it is now regarded as the fastest-growing economy in the world.
“The country’s economy is now in a full take-off mode of development; this transformative stage of economic development is spawning massive economic opportunities across all sectors of the economy,” President Ali said.

He told the gathering that the government’s intention is to position Guyana to be among leaders in the world in energy security, climate security, food security and also full-scale human resource development that provides the best health and educational services.

In crafting those policies, Dr. Ali said it is paramount that the government seeks to integrate the diaspora into the process of national development.
Policies, he related, should be tailored to make the diaspora integral instead of incidental to nationhood.

With that, the Head of State said that for the diaspora to become more integrated into the country’s national development, it must benefit from accurate and updated information. This makes it now essential to establish platforms for the provision of accurate and timely delivery of information to members of the diaspora to counteract misinformation.

Dr. Ali said: “We are also keen on transforming the brain drain into brain gain. The technology now exists to also tap into our highly-skilled diaspora. The diaspora possesses the skills and expertise that are needed for the modernisation of our economy. We hope to be able to use ICT to be able to make greater use of the wealth of skills available within the diaspora including in providing educational and health services.”

This diaspora integration model embraces a role for the diaspora as an instrument of soft power, as many members of Guyana’s diaspora have done well in their adopted homelands and have risen to positions of prominence.

“We look to our diaspora to project our external interests, including to protect our democracy and to defend our territorial integrity and sovereignty, particularly from external threats.

We look to our diaspora to champion the international causes which are germane to our national interests, including arresting climate change. Indeed, we also look to our diaspora to wield its influence in attracting and in unlocking markets for our products,” the Head of State said.

Guyana’s experience dictates that the diaspora policies should not be cast in stone, but should remain flexible and adaptable to changing realities.

The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention, the President said, is an essential platform for not only exchanging ideas but also for fostering deeper and stronger ties among states that have significant diasporas, such as India and Guyana. He wished the convention every success.

President Ali, who will be conferred with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, India’s highest honour for overseas Indians, on January 10, is on an official visit to India.