THE United States has signalled that it is ready to support a major wave of investment in ports, roads and housing in Guyana, as Washington aligns itself with what it describes as the “fastest-growing” country in the world.
Speaking in Georgetown during a visit to celebrate the partnership between the two countries, US Deputy Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, said Guyana had reached a pivotal stage in its development and now needed large-scale infrastructure to sustain and spread its rapid economic growth.
“Guyana is at a stage in development where it needs infrastructure as the foundation for further economic growth,” the US official said.
He noted that Guyana’s “tremendous resources in terms of energy”, which he described as “the foundation of all economic development”, could be leveraged into much broader progress, making clear that Washington wants to be a key partner in turning resource wealth into visible projects on the ground.
“We want to partner with Guyana to leverage those resources into a whole variety of economic development in many areas,” he said.
Landau set out a wide-ranging infrastructure agenda, stressing the need for modern ports to bring in goods, road networks to move them across the country and the region, and expanded commercial and social facilities, including housing, retail spaces and sporting infrastructure.
“We want to see ports that allow goods to come in, roads that allow those goods to be transported throughout the country and the region. We’d like to see more stores and stadiums and all the things that the people of Guyana want, including housing. There’s just so many things we can work on together that allow Guyana to be a better quality of life for its people,” he said.
The Deputy Secretary framed this drive as central to improving living standards, insisting that the ultimate test of Guyana’s current economic boom would be whether it translated into tangible benefits for ordinary citizens.
He spoke of using both the country’s natural and human resources to build “a better future” and “a better quality of life” for Guyanese, adding that the United States wanted to be closely associated with that process.
Landau said he had held a “terrific meeting” with President Irfaan Ali earlier, during which the two sides reviewed opportunities across the country. He stressed that Washington and Georgetown were “very aligned on a vision for prosperity” that goes beyond the oil sector and reaches communities nationwide.
“We’re very aligned on a vision for prosperity that brings benefits to the people of both our countries, and prosperity across the whole nation of Guyana,” he said.
To underline the focus on balanced development, Landau referenced planned and potential projects not only along the coast but also inland and in the hinterland, citing Berbice, Lethem, the Demerara region and “all the regions of Guyana” as areas where opportunities had been identified.
Landau noted that he was in Georgetown “with some American businesses” and indicated that US companies are actively eyeing opportunities in infrastructure, services and supporting industries as Guyana’s economy expands.