Qatar looks to increase investments in Guyana

President Irfaan Ali has showed his appreciation for the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad Al Thani, for his role in bringing for bringing a multi-million-dollar venture to Guyana, in the form of the nation’s first private sector funded project from Qatar.

President Irfaan Ali gave details about Qatar’s plans to build a stadium in the region of the Essequibo Islands–West Demerara, stating the following, “I would like to thank the Emir himself. He has been leading from the front, the expansion of this relationship.”

“Very soon… with support from the Emir of Qatar, we will turn the sod for a new stadium in Region Three to be financed by Qatar, which will be a grant and gift of the friendship between the two countries.”

Ali added that “This is testimony to the strength of belief and character that honour the relationship we are building with Qatar.”

The two nations have had a working relationship since they established diplomatic relations in 1996 and have found ways to collaborate for mutual benefit over the past few decades as well.

Ali also highlighted the fact that Qatar’s interest in Guyana has increased manifold since the establishment of an embassy in Doha in 2023.

“Since we established a strong focus on other parts of the world and not those we have traditionally focused on investment from, we are seeing tremendous interest and Qatar is one of the countries that has shown remarkable speed in expanding and transforming that interest into reality.”

President Ali added that “We are in discussions with Qatar in a number of areas…tourism and hospitality, service, oil and gas, food security, investment and modernization and transformation of the country.”

Qatar signed multiple cooperative agreements with Guyana when Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani came for a visit last September, cementing deeper ties between the two nations which has shown results in recent times.

The first of these agreements pertains to economic, commercial, and technical cooperation, while the second focuses on the promotion and protection of mutual investments and the third was structured as a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in legal fields, which is considered to be of great importance to both nations.

Guyana is also looking forward to the construction of the Georgetown Seafront Resort and Convention Centre, which is expected to be completed within three years and will become its largest world-class investment in tourism and hospitality.

Through this project, Guyana will be able to provide 260 hotel rooms and suites. 150 service and premium villas will also be a part of the project, showing the extent of the investments being made in the nation.

Oneigde Walrond spoke on Sunday at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project, stating the following, “This investment is not in a vacuum, it is in the context of the larger vision and strategy for the hospitality industry that we are well on our way to implementing.”

She assured people that many of the 10 hotel ongoing projects will be completely operational by the end of the year.

“I want to assure the Assets Group and other investors that we are working to ensure an integrated framework for investment in the hospitality sector and I want to assure citizens of Guyana and residents of Georgetown that the vision for development is sustainable and being rolled out with care for the environment.”

Walrod added that, “Our strategy sensibly balances the need for economic opportunities and preserving the environment for future generations.”

Ramez Al-Khayyat, the President and chief executive officer of the Qatari-based Power International Holding, stated that the project goes far beyond the addition of a mere 400 rooms. The project will also provide facilities such as retail units for food and beverages, high luxury fashion brands, state of a art health club and a convention center with state-of-the-art facilities.