Irfaan Ali, Foreign Dignitaries and Diplomats–An Embarrassing Scene

by Randy Gopaul

There is nothing unusual about foreign leaders, diplomats, investors, and multinational companies taking an interest in Guyana. Countries exist to advance their own interests. Governments are elected to secure opportunities, markets, resources, and strategic advantages for their own people.

The Americans are looking after America. The British are looking after Britain. The Canadians are looking after Canada. The Chinese are looking after China.

That is how the world works.

The problem arises when our own leaders appear more excited about foreign approval than about fiercely defending Guyana’s interests.

Too often, one gets the impression that the Government of Guyana sees every visit by a foreign dignitary or investor as an endorsement of its leadership rather than what it really is: a transaction. These visitors are not coming because they are enamoured with our politicians. They are coming because Guyana possesses something of extraordinary value: vast oil reserves, strategic minerals, forests, fertile lands, and a small market that is relatively easy to influence.

No serious country enters another country simply to make that country rich. Every nation pursues its own interests.

That is why Guyana needs leadership that approaches foreign governments and investors with confidence, caution, and a healthy degree of skepticism.

We need a leader who says unapologetically: Guyana for Guyanese first.

This does not mean hostility toward foreign investment. Guyana needs investors, technical expertise, and international partnerships. But those relationships must be built on mutual benefit, transparency, and respect for our sovereignty.

For too long, there has been an uncomfortable perception that foreign diplomats enjoy extraordinary access and influence in Guyana. They move freely through our political and economic spaces, often commenting on domestic affairs and engaging with government and opposition figures in ways that would be considered inappropriate in many countries.

One sometimes gets the impression that Guyana’s leaders are more concerned with impressing foreign governments than with standing up to them.

That is dangerous.

History teaches us that countries that fail to define and defend their own national interests eventually find themselves serving the interests of others. Resource-rich nations, in particular, must be vigilant. The competition for oil, minerals, timber, and strategic influence is real.

Guyana’s newfound wealth has made us the object of global attention. We should welcome genuine partnerships, but we must never confuse attention with affection.

Foreign governments are not our friends in the traditional sense. They are partners when our interests align and competitors when they do not.

Our leaders should understand this.

The role of a President is not to seek validation from foreign capitals or to bask in the attention of visiting dignitaries. The role of a President is to negotiate firmly, protect national interests, and ensure that Guyana’s resources are used first and foremost to improve the lives of Guyanese people.

The question that every citizen should ask is simple: Who is benefiting most from Guyana’s rapid development?

If the answer increasingly becomes foreign companies, foreign governments, and local elites, then we are repeating a familiar and tragic story, one in which resource wealth enriches everyone except the ordinary citizen.

Guyana deserves leadership that is confident enough to shake hands with the world while never forgetting whom it serves.

The first duty of every Guyanese government should be to the people of Guyana.