– says“looking to move to action very quickly”
The United States (U.S.) is interested in investing in major projects in Guyana that are in the “hundreds of millions” and “billions of dollars” and plans to support both local and American businesses in the country as efforts intensify to deepen ties with Guyana.
The media was informed of these plans on Tuesday by U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Adam Boehler at a press conference hosted by the U.S. Embassy at the Pegasus Hotel.
Boehler came along with a team representing six U.S. Government agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, the National Security Council, the Export–Import Bank, and the Department of Homeland Security. Their aim is to discuss investment opportunities with the private sector and to highlight the U.S. Government’s initiative to support economic growth and security co-operation in the region.
Boehler’s visit comes on the heels of the September visit from U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo who promised to form lasting partnerships with Guyana. Asked what can Guyanese look forward to in terms of investment and partnership, Boehler said: “…we look at large infrastructure projects like a large port but, equally, we look at every, single mortgage that would go to an individual person in Guyana. So, what is most important to me is not the amount of money but the impact that we’re going to have. So,
know that we’re going to look at projects that are in the multi-hundreds of millions of dollars to billions of dollars, down to projects that are going to get five hundred dollars to a small entrepreneur that needs it.”
The DFC is America’s development bank. Its mission is to partner with the private sector to finance solutions to the most critical challenges facing the developing world. The DFC has a total investment limit of $60 billion and supports projects in a variety of industries from critical infrastructure to power generation, healthcare, agriculture, technology, and financial services.
Present at the press briefing was U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch, and President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Nicholas Boyer.
With the assistance of the U.S. Embassy, Boehler said that he has already commenced “one of the finest private sector conversations” with Boyer that he has had in a long time. “I can initially tell — when you meet with folks you get a sense that we’re going to have a very strong private sector here. We’re looking to move to action very quickly which is why we came out here,” he said.
When Pompeo visited in September he made it clear that while the U.S. is interested in investing in Guyana, part of its expectation is that the English-speaking Caribbean country of less than a million people would help to “put diplomatic pressure” on Venezuela.
Pompeo offered U.S. “resources” to Guyana to combat the Venezuelan threat and, amid differing public and political views, President Irfaan Ali accepted the offer. Boehler’s visit is the first such visit to the country since Pompeo’s. He said that the visiting team is ready to get to action and will support investment and development in Guyana and its neighbour in the oil and gas sector, Suriname. Furthermore, he told the media that engagements will continue to identify areas they can invest in such as reducing electricity costs, investment in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), investment in agriculture, infrastructure development, and more.
Boehler referred to the visit as “historic” noting that the six agencies were all coming together at the same time in the interest of Guyana. “That’s the first time that’s happened in the Western Hemisphere in decades and it speaks to our focus on Guyana,” he said.
He also acknowledged that, like any other company, American companies will have to win competitive bids but what gives them the edge is their focus on high-quality infrastructure and local labour. Referring to the recently completed elections, marred by accusations of electoral fraud coming from both major political parties, Boehler said that the U.S. is pleased that democracy was restored to Guyana because it could not invest in the country otherwise.
“At the end of the day at DFC, one of my main goals at DCF is to increase the amount of jobs and the livelihood of the individual person living here in Guyana,” he said.
Meanwhile, Boyer stated that the U.S. has stood up for Guyana’s democracy and is now zeroing in on economic foreign policy, a move which brings excitement to Guyana. “I think it’s a great time for us because we can grow in our partnership with the U.S. which we clearly have an affinity for and a large diaspora in and a target market for agriculture exports and we have a great partner now who can provide access to capital and help us with our infrastructure build-out to really unlock the potential of a number of sectors in Guyana,” the PSC Chair said.
Later that day, President Ali hosted a reception for the visiting delegation at State House. Joining President Ali were Prime Minister, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips; Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo and several Ministers of Government.
The delegation included Ambassador Lynch; Sabrina Teichman, Managing Director; Rachael Baitel, Deputy Chief of Staff; Adriana Kania, Special Assistant; Kelly O’Connor, Chief Growth Officer; Esther Boehler (spouse of CEO Boehler), Department of Treasury; Assistant Secretary for International Markets, Mitchell Silk; National Security Council Director for the Caribbean, Western Hemisphere Affairs – Mariju L. Bofil; Department of Homeland Security Deputy Under Secretary, James McCament; Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Chief Banking Officer, Stephen Renna, and David Fogel, Senior Advisor to Under Secretary Keith J. Krach.
