–Guyana poised for a future without limits, President Ali declares
–points to country’s rising global significance, remarkable economic transformation

BUILDING on a foundation of boundless national ambition, Guyana is now entering a new era of global significance, President, Dr Irfaan Ali has said.
The Head of State made these remarks on the threshold of Guyana’s 60th ‘Diamond Jubilee’ Independence Anniversary, celebrated at Fort Island in the Essequibo River.
Speaking before patrons, regional leaders and foreign dignitaries, the President noted that this year’s celebration was more than a nostalgic milestone, but it also was a launching pad for the next phase of Guyana’s development.
“Sixty years ago, the Golden Arrowhead rose. It rose above a people long exploited. It rose above a land long claimed by others…we are a nation that has emerged against all odds as one of the most remarkable stories of transformation this century has produced,” the President said.
He reminded the audience how far the country has travelled since independence in 1966, when sugar estates, bauxite mines, banks and major commercial enterprises remained under foreign control, leaving Guyana at that time, a nation with a dependent economy despite its new symbols of sovereignty.
“Our GDP, which stood at $229 million at independence, now exceeds $75 billion in purchasing-power terms. Our per capita income, once $344, is today projected to approach $38,000 per capita by 2028,” he added.
Notably, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Guyana led the world with average real GDP growth of 47 per cent per year between 2022 and 2024.
“In a single decade, we have leapt from the margins into the front ranks of the world’s economies…We are now building our Natural Resources Fund. We are setting aside from day one for the children of tomorrow. It grows with every single additional revenue that comes back to our country.”

A RECORD OF SERVICE

On the international front, he pointed to Guyana’s record of service on the United Nations Security Council, where the country has served three times as an elected member and held the presidency of the council.
That record, President Ali said, “demonstrates our capacity, our courage and our skill” and proves “that Guyana belongs in the councils of the world.”
He stressed that Guyana has been raising its voice for the global South, for Africa, for small island states, for the voiceless and the overlooked.
“We are no longer forgotten. We are a force, and we are here to stay,” he told the gathering.
At the same time, the President argued that Guyana’s growing international profile must rest on a solid domestic foundation. He called for a national development platform rooted in unity, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for each other.
Constitutional reform, he said, should not be treated as “a contest for advantage” or “a weapon of division,” but as a solemn national responsibility with the long-term interest of Guyana and future generations at its centre.
“There is no ceiling on what this nation can become. No threat will define our future. There is no boundary, none on the ambition, the creativity, the enterprise, and the dignity of the Guyanese people,” he said.
NATIONAL SPENDING
President, Dr Irfaan Ali stressed that while Guyana now possesses unprecedented financial resources, the country’s transformation will ultimately be measured not by figures on paper, but by the lasting investments made in people and communities.
The President said that Guyana must “hold it in trust” and “save it with discipline.”
National spending, he stressed, must be guided by long-term priorities and careful planning, with today’s decisions laying the foundation for future generations.
“The roads we are building connect not just communities, but destinies. The schools we are opening do not merely teach children to read and write, they teach children to dream; the hospitals we are building do not merely heal bodies, they affirm that every Guyanese life has worth. That is what it means to govern for all. This is what One Guyana means in practice,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of Guyana’s economic expansion, the President noted that the 2024 national budget surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in the country’s history, while oil production in the offshore Stabroek Block has climbed beyond 915,000 barrels per day, positioning Guyana as South America’s third-largest oil producer.

He pointed to major state investments in education, healthcare and housing as evidence of how the country’s growing wealth is being channelled into development. Between 2020 and 2025, the administration also constructed or rehabilitated more than 10,000 roads and 430 bridges, significantly improving connectivity and bringing infrastructure to communities that had long been neglected.