Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley began a four-day visit to Guyana with a working dinner with Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali on Sunday night, according to an official statement issued in Guyana.
The statement gave no details of the working dinner.
However, a post on the website of Guyana’s Department of Information, said that Ali reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to working with the Government of Barbados in the shared spirit of regional integration as he welcomed Mottley and her 14-member delegation to State House for the dinner.
In the post, Ali said: “I want to let you know that here in Guyana, led by myself as President, the cabinet and the people of this country, we admire greatly, your leadership. We believe strongly in your commitment to regional integration, and we will work with you every single day in our journey ahead together to ensure that the goals that you are setting can be realised and the people of this region can be uplifted to better heights.”
According to the post, Mottley said: “For me, it is significant that the last trip that I made when COVID started, before the final lockdowns, was to Guyana. And the first trip that I am making since receiving the mandate to the people of Barbados, again, is to Guyana. I think that that symbolises a very close relationship between our two countries, even beyond what exists with us as CARICOM nations.”
Mottley also expressed gratitude to Ali for the invitation and the opportunity for Barbados’ public and private sector officials in her delegation to work with their Guyanese counterparts.
The dinner was also attended by Guyana’s Prime Minister Mark Phillips, cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
Mottley is due to participate in the three-day International Energy Conference and Expo: Guyana that begins on Tuesday.
“Participating companies will share industry trends and announce future projects while highlighting upcoming business and investment opportunities. The boom in Guyana’s oil industry has created a unique opportunity for the country’s economic development. Due to the developments in the energy sector, the country is poised to become one of the fastest growing economies in the world in this decade,” the organisers said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Suriname’s head of state Chandrikapersad Santoki and Mottley are among the speakers scheduled to the address the conference.
(CMC/Guyana’s Department of Public Information)
