GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — The Guyana Government Tuesday said it is leveraging its expanding oil and gas sectors for socio-economic development as well as investing in what that will optimise long term opportunities for the country.

Addressing the fifth Guyana Energy Conference & Supply Chain Expo, President Irfaan Ali told delegates from the region and the wider global community that his country is working with various international stakeholders, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, the United States, on establishing “the most transformative infrastructure for tomorrow’s future”.

The three-day event is being held under the theme “Building Tomorrow’s Future Today,” and Ali said, for example, the construction of the deep-water port here will link Brazil, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) “ensuring that we position Guyana to be the cause of a geographic location with transport and logistic hub of the region”.

He told the conference organised by the Guyana Energy Conference & Supply Chain Expo Secretariat that has brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore developments and opportunities in energy and supply chains that by itself “creates an ecosystem that generates high paying jobs that leads to industrialisation, manufacturing and accelerate the productive sector”.

He said Guyana is blessed with resources that allow for the building of an economy “and to accelerate our own productive capacity, bauxite in large resource.

“But are we satisfied, because the future requires us to export raw bauxite or do we channel the energy to create value and this is the part we prefer to take, utilising the energy advantage to create value that will enhance the economy, diversify the economy and integrate our economy with the rest of the global system.

“That is where we are channelling our energy,” he said, noting that the Government is moving towards strengthening national energy security, which includes not only the energy risks but generating energy for export.

He said no longer is this initiative a discussion because Guyana is now building and completing its first plant and finalising the construction of another, launching on Tuesday, the expression of interest for the 165-megawatt Amalia Falls Hydroelectric project.

“We are working with our partners to leverage our gas and our petroleum to become an energy exporter in the region. Exporter in terms of infrastructure and logistics,” he said, adding, “so our national security must lead to regional energy security and allow us to be more structurally integrated in the rest of the region”

Ali said also Guyana is seeking to leverage its energy sector to build resilient food production.

Guyana has partnered with the US-based Blumberg Grain to enhance regional food security, signing an memorandum of understanding in July 2025 to develop, brand, and market a new food hub at Yarrowkabra. The project focuses on expanding agricultural exports, reducing post-harvest losses, and boosting Caricom trade through improved, tech-driven storage and processing facilities.

Ali told the conference that while these things “are not cheap, but costly, but if we want to create an equal system that is ready for the world in relation to the standards that are needed for our products to get out there, then we have to embrace the best in class so that our time to get to the market, to get to the best technology , our time to be ready is shortened and that is why we are partnering with the best”.

Ali said Guyana intends to be the major player in food production for the foreseeable future and that is why the Middle East is also important “because if we lock in financing from the Middle East for these projects then they have a stake in our development.

“They have stake in ensuring what we are doing is successful. They have a huge market also,” he said, adding “we want as many partners as possible to have a stake in our development.

“Because if we have many partners having a stake in our development, then they all have a responsibility to ensure that their stake is successful, and it enhances our success rate and create the environment for us to be successful.

“So if we join the Alliance for Eco-Tourism that Saudi Arabia has launched, we enter into a new high value market. We are now exposed into a new high valued market, and we get investment to come in from that high valued market. They then have a stake in ensuring our eco-tourism,” Ali said, outlining similar initiatives for the education and other sectors here.

The organisers said that the three-day event aims to foster forward-looking discussions, bridging gaps and connecting ideas across borders. It workshops, panel discussions, and networking events, enabling direct engagement with peers and experts.

In his wide-ranging address, President Ali also announced that a new digital payment system will be deployed soon, a venture expected to make monetary transactions more efficient.

He said the Bank of Guyana, the country’s central bank, has completed several necessary processes to make way for this new system and that two commercial banks are also ready to embrace this system now.

“We can now have digital wallets… digital payment platforms. That will be the new standard,” President Ali told the conference.