President Ali highlights; tells European investors the door to opportunities is open

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Monday, told European investors that the door for business and investment opportunities in Guyana is open, and collaborations could bring significant benefits for both Guyana and the European Union (EU).

The President made those remarks at the opening ceremony for the first EU economic mission to Guyana, at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Kingston.
According to the Head of State, the presence of this mission here ensures that businesses and investors from the EU have no excuse for being part of the greatest story of growth and development in the world, and having an opportunity to be part of one of the most sustainable and comprehensive stories of development that will evolve further in 2030 and beyond.
He said: “[Guyana’s story] will position a small developing country into a mighty position of leadership on climate, food and energy… a position that will see a small developing country becoming one of the most aggressive modern, scientifically driven country providing services in education, healthcare, ecological services, and biodiversity services.”
With Guyana positioning itself as a leader in all of these services, he said that this provides the country with a wide market that could benefit the country, investors and businesses based on the existing trade arrangements and agreements that exist.

However, what the government hopes to do is to create competitive advantages in Guyana so that businesses may want to relocate their services or expand their services here, to better compete and gain access to those markets.

“We are fully aware that our policy agenda and our policy framework must position this country to give you the best possible competitive advantage in providing and selling your services or products from Guyana, and that is the journey we are embarking on,” President Ali said.

Sharing the prospects of Guyana’s burgeoning success in the oil and gas industry, he related that this sector is just the fuel to build what Guyana wants, which is a fully diversified economy which is highly competitive in every area and leading in all sectors that matter for the future.
Dr Ali said that while some may call this a monumental task, this cannot be achieved through a straight-line approach and as such, the government has taken the policy decision to adopt the best approaches today to build a Guyana ahead of time.

Against this backdrop, President Ali said that it is important for the mission to understand the opportunities that lie ahead, as he disclosed that Guyana’s export value to the European Union from January 2017 to September 2023 was some US$7.9 billion, which reflects a steady growth. Overall, he added that trade between the EU and Guyana for that same period amounted to some US$11 billion.

“We are here to tell you in a convincing way that the door for our opportunities is open so that it can become your opportunities also,” Dr. Ali said.
Meanwhile, also delivering remarks at the opening ceremony was EU Ambassador to Guyana, Rene Van Nes, who said that the hosting of this mission came as a result of a bold promise he made to President Ali to bring “more of Europe to Guyana.”

As he expressed his joy in being able to have this done, he said that the mission consists of some 23 companies from 10 EU member states ranging from various industries. Added to this, he noted that these 23 companies had, last year, a total revenue of €400 billion and employ some 500,000 people worldwide.

Van Nes said: “So these companies were selected for their contributions to the priority sectors of the EU global gateway that you know is the EU strategy to connect Europe to the world.”
Some of these sectors, he related, include renewable energy, agriculture, health care and even pharmaceuticals, all sectors that are highly relevant to Guyana’s ambition to become a regional hub for key services and products.