-President Ali says

AS Guyana maintains its position as the leading Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination in the Caribbean, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has said that this has led to the creation thousands of jobs here.

The Head of State was at the time responding to questions from the Guyana Chronicle at a recent press conference where he said that the direct and indirect benefits of these investments in Guyana are the jobs that are created.

He indicated that for example, there are currently a number of hotels under construction which has created multiple jobs, which puts more disposable income in the hands of more families in the country.

Added to this, he said more companies such as call centres have increased their capacity by thousands, which adds more individual, community and national wealth and has increased spending.

“You have more spending in the economy, you have more demand for service, more demand for service increases supply. Supply of services increases revenue, increased revenue trigger spending. So, it’s a cycle. So, FDI is an important indicator also in the confidence that investors have in the country,” President Ali said.

Dr Ali said not only is Guyana the leading FDI destination, but it is a telling sign of the confidence some international investors have in the country, its leadership and the direction in which the country is going.

Additionally, President Ali said that investors also look at the economic, political stability and security before investing and the increased investments speak to the greater level of interest being shown here.

Against this backdrop, he said that for quite some time whenever he travels, the team would have to dedicate time during every trip to meet with investors.
“There are always multiple requests from different private sector organisations [and] governments. Right now, we are trying to schedule a state visit …the DR [Dominican Republic] private sector and the president is awaiting,” he said.

With that, he went on to add that multiple private sector leaders came to Guyana and have established relationships here, even as he noted that the government has been invited to multiple engagements internationally with the rapid growth that has been seen in multiple areas.

President Ali said: “That is because of the interest. You are seeing this every time you travel. The requests that are there on our agenda here locally, the requests for meetings and so on. So, the FDI is also an indication as to the confidence in the economy.”