The government yesterday announced the receipt of a final tranche of €7.56 million ($1.7b) in budgetary support from the European Union (EU) as President Irfaan Ali reminded that the country is still a developing one and will need all the financial aid it can muster until it fully transitions to an oil state.
“There is a serious misconception in relation to Guyana being [an oil state].Yes, we are a new player in oil and gas. Yes, we are projected to grow tremendously and be a leading economy globally, but there is a transition time which brings with it a transition gap,” Ali yesterday told a news conference where the €7.56 million in budgetary support was announced.
“We are making the case that in that transition gap, Guyana still qualifies for concessional financing. We still qualify for support from international agencies because the strong flow of revenue from the oil and gas sector would not occur immediately. We still believe strongly that we qualify for support,” he added.
Last year, EU Ambassador Fernando Ponz Cantó had said that although Guyana is the newest oil producing state, it still needs supports of this nature as a means to “bridge” fiscal requirements before oil revenue is available.
Yesterday, EU’s Deputy Managing Director for the Americas, Javier Nino Pérez, announced that while bilateral aid would stop for some countries, Guyana would not fall into that category. “Even though for other countries we will not foresee bilateral programmes in the next several years, this will not be the case for Guyana. Guyana will continue to benefit from a national programme,” Pérez informed.
He stated also that the EU was impressed with Guyana’s management of the funding it has received over the years and this is one of the reasons that the two sides are currently in discussions on another agreement.
“We trust this country. We trust this government. We clearly believe that this is a well-defined strategy to move forward, to work on issues like infrastructural development, health, education, inclusivity, the green deal, and we want to be partners of that process,” he said.
“We don’t want to tell Guyana what to do by no means…we want to be able to talk to Guyana about absolutely everything that is of concern… by the end of the seven years we can come back and say we achieved that goal-we are political partners,” he added.
His position was echoed by the European Union Ambassador, who pledged that the EU would be pleased to continue to accompany Guyana on its developmental journey while assuring that the EU will dedicate “meaningful” resources to that end.
President Ali, however, did not go into detail on those discussions, only saying he didn’t want to “overstep the procedure and speak about new programming”. He did state however that those talks are “ongoing and promising.”
According to the President, the intention of the visit is to define the way forward and come up with a common framework of how Guyana and the EU can “navigate the future together.”
The funds will go towards a number of areas but mostly focussed on mitigating climate change, like building sea defences. And in particular, President Ali promised that the building of the shoreline will continue.
He lamented the impact of flooding on residents and the loss of their crops and livestock. It is why, he noted, that this country is most grateful for the gesture by the EU which will “greatly assist in improving the lives of the people” while cushioning the impact on the state coffers.
Late last month, a joint Guyana-EU release had stated that the two sides had begun discussions on a $640 million (€2.73 million) technical cooperation facility to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the new Technical Cooperation Facility, Guyana will benefit from support for the implementation and development of policies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Possible areas of support include health, livelihood development, biodiversity, forestry, governance and public financial management, the release stated.
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and Ponz Cantó, led the two teams.
The joint release had described the meeting as a successful step towards further cooperation achievements for the benefit of Guyana’s citizens.
It said that the EU and Guyana have an increasingly close partnership “based on common values, objectives and interests covering all matters of mutual interest.”
While addressing the meeting, the release said that Singh placed on record, the strong appreciation of the Government for the EU’s sustained support to Guyana over the years. He also voiced optimism that the strong relationship that Guyana and the EU enjoy will continue to grow in the years ahead as “Guyana traverses this new phase in its economic history.”
Ponz Cantó, the release said, pledged the EU’s continued commitment to the EU-Guyana partnership as Guyana advances its development agenda as a new and emerging oil and gas producer.
