President David Granger said that Guyana, for long term development, has the most exciting investments prospects in the Caribbean and added that the country holds an enviable and strategic position as the link between the South American continent, the Caribbean region and the rest of the world.
According to a statement by the Ministry of the Presidency, the President’s remarks, which were made at an investment seminar, organised by the Caribbean Council in London, today, were supported by Mr. Gil Holzman, President and Chief Exective Officer of ECO Atlantic Oil and Gas, which has a stake in oil and gas exploration in Guyana.
He said, “With everything combined together under the management of the President and his administration, I think the next two to five to ten years will be very transformational and again, from my personal perspective, this is probably the best investment destination in the world at the moment.”
President Granger and Mr. Holzman were part of a panel, which included Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Carl Greenidge, British High Commissioner to Guyana, Mr. Greg Quinn and Mr. Andy Thorne, Group Chairman of the Kestrel Group, which is involved in the shipping industry in Guyana.
The session was facilitated by British Member of Parliament, Lord Bruce of Bennachie and in the audience were business executives from infrastructure, port development, oil and gas, tourism and hospitality and shipping, who are already operating in the Caribbean and Guyana or are interested in doing so, along with Members of the diplomatic community.
The Guyanese Head of State sold Guyana as an exciting investment destination with several advantages and opportunities. “We have the land, we have an intelligent English-speaking population, we have the resources, and I think people who are looking for something different; something unique, will come to Guyana. I am not suggesting that you leave Belize or Antigua or Barbados but I am suggesting for long-term development, Guyana is the best prospect for investment,” he said.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency, President Granger painted a picture of Guyana’s potential and the ‘green’ State development policy, which would see it taking advantage of its eco-tourism product, preserving its environment, pursuing ‘green’ energy development while taking advantage of coming oil and gas revenues to accomplish these goals, declaring that even as the country transitions, it has to ‘walk on two legs’.
“Oil and gas is a very attractive prospect… We probably wouldn’t start to produce oil and gas till maybe 2020… We will continue to develop our sources of renewable energy and at the same time use the revenues from the petroleum industry to funnel our development of infrastructure and education in particular, and ensure that other industries could be diversified away from what we call our six sisters; sugar, rice, bauxite, timber and gold and diamonds. Oil and gas is not going to distract us. We are going to ensure that the revenues… go into our Sovereign Wealth Fund, but we will also ensure that we continue to become a ‘green’ state by developing our sustainable energy resources,” President Granger said.
With the need for cheaper energy to boost the manufacturing sector, the Head of State outlined Guyana’s energy generation potential and called for investments in solar and wind energy, biomass and hydropower. (Photos by MotP)
