ROWLEY SKIPS UN, GUYANA MAKES HEADWAY

By RICHARD MAHARAJ 

WHILE Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is grounded at home with another Covid-19 infection, Guyanese President Dr. Irfaan Ali has made diplomatic breakthroughs at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). 

Ali delivered his second address at the prestigious UNGA, and held several important bilateral talks, including one on the Venezuelan border controversy. 

He met Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States Luis Almagro on Venezuela’s ongoing claim for a large chunk of Guyana. 

At the UNGA, Ali spoke on debt rescheduling, climate change, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

He told world leaders of the advances his administration is making in education, food security, and in meeting the development goals. 

He urged the international community to work toward “sustainable, inclusive and equitable development.” 

Ali also spoke at plenary sessions and UN-related meetings, including a conference on climate change. 

The Guyanese leader has been lifting his country’s international profile and advocating issues common to the Caribbean region. 

He has also been holding meetings with prospective international investors. 

He is scheduled to go on a high-powered investment mission to Middle Eastern countries, where he would discuss partnerships for his country’s expanding energy sector. 

While Ali has been marketing his country on the world stage and encouraging investments, the Rowley administration has been low-keyed. 

There was no senior T&T representative at the UNGA, in New York, or at any affiliated conferences. 

United States President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson were among world leaders who addressed the UNGA. 

T&T’s Permanent Representative to the UN is Dennis Francis, a retired diplomat. 

A recent report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated that T&T is currently in the worst Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) state in the Caribbean. 

The country lost US $ 3 billion in FDIs in 2020. 

Outflows exceeded inflows in T&T, which was once the highest per capita investment capital in the western hemisphere. 

In 2020, Guyana attracted almost US $2 billion worth of international investments.