President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday evening met with the United States’ Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to discuss strengthening collaboration with the aim of enhancing energy security for both countries and the broader region.
The meeting took place in Florida ahead of President Ali’s engagement with President Donald Trump today at the Shield of Americas Summit.
Secretary Wright said his government’s goal is to grow the production of energy and other natural resources right here in the Western Hemisphere – something which he noted Guyana will play a key role in.
“This is our backyard. We want strong partners, strong nations and strong energy production. Guyana is a huge part of this strategy.”
He added that Guyana is, “…a very well-governed country with great energy resources that’s starting to produce them and grow that larger and larger. That’s a win for Guyana.
That’s a win for the United States. It’s a win for the Western Hemisphere.”
Similar sentiments were expressed by President Ali, who emphasised that regional energy security is important for Guyana as well.
“Part of our objective is to expand our energy footprint to build sustainability in our energy portfolio, not only petroleum but gas,” the Guyanese Leader noted in a video posted to his Facebook page following the meeting.
He said during the engagement with the US Secretary of Energy, they discussed how Guyana could be positioned to ensure regional energy security.
According to the Head of State, “We can build out the infrastructure and the system through which we can be energy secure, and we can build out the opportunities that come with energy.”
“As you know, Guyana has tremendous opportunities ahead of us in which we could utilise energy to add value in our natural resources, whether it’s bauxite, building out our capacity and capability for a fertiliser to support the rest of the region, data centres, and other investments in manufacturing, industrial development, LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) plants, and be that first mover in terms of the infrastructure that will be able to accommodate gas from other partners within the region. So, those were some of our discussions. “
President Ali went on to add that the US Energy Secretary is also very keen on Guyana’s development and the opportunities there. “So, I think it was a great meeting, and we were able to examine the future pillars on which our cooperation is based,” he added.
Watch comments from President Ali and Secretary Wright following their engagement in Florida on Friday evening
