The visit to Guyana by a six-agency delegation from the United States Government this week is a sign of the U.S’ commitment to the South American country’s prosperity. This is according to a statement from the U.S Embassy in Guyana on Wednesday following the visit by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO, Adam Boehler, who was also accompanied by the U.S. Department of Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Markets, Mitchell A. Silk, and other senior officials from the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Export Import Bank, and National Security Council.
Their visit was part of a five-country tour to discuss investment opportunities and highlight the U.S. Government’s support of economic growth and security cooperation. The group met with private sector leaders and President Mohamed Irfaan Ali also hosted a working dinner with senior government officials.
The historic six-agency delegation visit followed a trip to Guyana by U.S Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo last month, during which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to, among other things, foster and facilitate private sector investments from the U.S into Guyana.
The delegation’s head had indicated that they are looking to move ahead quickly with their investments. “We’re looking to move to action very quickly which is why we came out here so I’m hopeful we’ll announce investments in Guyana soon,” Boehler said during the visit, noting that they had keen interest in working on the reduction of the cost of electricity in Guyana.
The group had also met with the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and its Chairman, Nicholas Deygoo-Boyer during which they examined opportunities for partnership, particularly those which would facilitate investment and job creation in Guyana.
“We talked about investment in small and medium-sized businesses, we talked about investment in agriculture and farmers. At the end of the day, one of my main goals at DFC is to increase the amount of jobs and the livelihood of the individual person living here in Guyana, so that is going to be a major focus on what we do,” Mr. Boehler further stated, noting that the DFC would not just support U.S companies, but Guyanese as well.
The U.S Embassy said the DFC invests across sectors including energy, healthcare, critical infrastructure, and technology.
“DFC also provides financing for small businesses and women entrepreneurs in order to create jobs in emerging markets,” The Embassy said in its statement.
