–President Ali announces
–US$2.5B set aside for development of the Caribbean

AS Guyana continues to lead the way in food security within the Caribbean region, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has announced that the country is leading discussions with Saudi Arabia for the establishment of a US$25 million facility, catered to accelerate food production.

The Head of State made this announcement on Saturday during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
“Guyana is leading this discussion on the $25 million facility to accelerate food production by looking at a hydroponics facility for the entire region.

“We have submitted all the studies, and I am confident that before the end of this year we can see this project advance towards implementation,” President Ali said.
These discussions stemmed from a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)/Saudi Arabia Summit, which was held in the capital city of Riyadh.

Deeming it a “tremendous” success, President Ali said that fellow CARICOM Heads of Government left the summit with a sense of pride, given that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia now fully understands the value of CARICOM as an important development and strategic partner in areas such as energy, food and climate security.

Notably, the President said that a grant of US$2.5 billion from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been set aside and targets the development of the Caribbean region.
President Ali also reflected on the fact that when he started this journey of expanding Guyana’s diplomatic relationship within the Middle East, many doubted this effort.

However, the President dispelled the negativity by speaking on the fruitfulness of the relationship.

He said, “Saudi Arabia, Qatar are now helping us, through a grant, with the building of a new stadium that will be in Region Three, approving the road project…”
He also briefly touched on the massive developments being achieved through the US$150 million agreement that was signed earlier this year to finance infrastructural works in Guyana’s housing sector, and the construction of the Wismar Bridge in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan A. AlMarshad on the sidelines of the 2023 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group’s Annual Meeting.

And, given Guyana’s progress, President Ali urged other CARICOM nations to follow suit and pursue non-traditional partners in order to attain their development goals.

The Head of State continued by expressing his sincere gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its commitment to setting up a special window, and granting certain allowances to individuals residing in the region who wish to travel to conduct the hajj.

President Ali further stated that the Minister of State of Saudi Arabia has also committed to attending the next CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Guyana.

According to him, the summit will be biannual, and “we are working out the mechanism that will support the evolution of this relationship, including the possibility of an annual foreign ministers meeting.”