Pres Ali announces State-backed diaspora investment vehicle for major projects at NY forum

– urges diaspora to join Guyana’s economic transformation

Echoing a longstanding position that his and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government welcomes and supports the return of the Guyanese diaspora to invest and help develop their homeland, President Irfaan Ali on Thursday said that, with a number of transformative projects needing input, a dedicated state-backed diaspora investment vehicle will soon be launched. “We are going to launch very soon a special investment vehicle to mobilise resources in the diaspora, so that you too can invest in the fertiliser plant, the gas pumping plant with guaranteed returns from the Government. Guaranteed returns,” the President told a packed-to-capacity Queens, New York forum on Thursday evening.

The event was held at the Jericho Palace Banquet Hall in Queens, which quickly reached maximum attendance for the 7pm meeting and saw hundreds of others lined up outside, disappointed. However, the President took to the pavement and gave many a meet-and-greet opportunity. In his address to the diaspora, Ali explained that the proposal is only a microcosm of the Government’s development strategy for the country aimed at ensuring opportunities generated by this country’s rapid development are accessible not only to citizens at home but also to the diaspora. He also pointed to major investments already underway, noting that private investors continue committing hundreds of millions of US dollars to projects in Guyana. And with a number of massive transformation projects on the cards, he explained that the initiative would mobilise diaspora capital for ventures such as the planned fertiliser plant and gas-related infrastructure, thus creating an avenue for Guyanese abroad to share in the country’s economic expansion. The President reiterated that while critics attempt to portray Guyana negatively, the interest being shown by international investors, multilateral partners and foreign Governments clearly contradicts such claims.