Deals made through the partnership created by Guyana with the United States Export-Import (EXIM) Bank last year are expected to be approved once US regulatory and other processes are completed, outgoing US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch has said.
On July 27 last year Guyana signed a US$2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the EXIM Bank to facilitate greater investment in the country but to date no deal has arisen.
During an exclusive interview the Stabroek News had on Tuesday with the Ambassador, she was asked about the reason and announced that deals are already in the pipeline and some are mega ones.
“There are deals in the works. They take some time because some of them are quite large,” the Ambassador announced.
“So as you can imagine the Export-Import bank is a US government institution and we have to exercise certain due diligence and there are lots of rules to follow, to do certain analyses that need to be done before a deal is completed. Whether it be environmental, or gender… impact analysis needs to be completed, and then depending upon the size of the award, it may have to go for congressional notification,” she explained.
While making clear that she did not want to get into details as it relates to money thresholds and approvals since she does not work for the bank, she reasoned that if there are smaller amounts, they may not have to go through the tiers of processing as larger ones.
“If it’s under a certain dollar amount the board of export-import bank can approve it but if it’s a very large deal it has to go for congressional notification,” she expressed.
Nonetheless, the US envoy is confident that most of the deals brokered will be given approval.
“I expect that most, if not all, of these deals would be successful,” she said.
The Government of Guyana, through the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation had signed the US$2 billion MoU to facilitate greater investment in the country.
While leading a delegation to the United States last year, President Irfaan Ali witnessed the signing of the MoU, between Todd and President of the Bank, Reta Jo Lewis in Washington D.C.
The government, in a statement had said that the MoU represents an important milestone in US-Guyana relations, since it lays the foundation for Guyana to access EXIM financing and facilities for the first time and provides for interventions at a scale that is likely to have a lasting developmental impact. Under the agreement, the parties agreed to explore options for utilising EXIM’s standard instruments, which include direct loans and medium- and long-term guarantees, to finance US exports to Guyana for Government projects.
The statement also explained that the MoU identified a number of indicative sectors in which projects may be carried out. These include but are not limited to infrastructure including roads and bridges, energy, telecommunications, water treatment and sanitation and agriculture.
Crucial
Speaking directly after the signing, Ali had said that partnerships are crucial for the development of any country and Guyana welcomes this partnership. He added that Guyana sees the US as a partner based on shared principles and values. He pointed to the fact that the US is home to the largest Guyanese diaspora noting that this makes both countries culturally connected.
“In this development phase of our country, we want to see greater US participation not only from the government but from the private sector. One of the inhibiting factors has always been the ease of access to financing and the barriers to financing. This today is the single most important signal not only for Guyana but for the region [that] the United States through one of its agencies is serious about the commitment and promise to this region, the CARICOM region,” Ali said.
He related that the signing of the MoU is an open invitation for the private sector of both countries to now move aggressively forward on a platform that is supported by both the Government of Guyana and EXIM Bank. He also expressed hope that the private sector would “make full use of this opportunity.”
“The level of seriousness that is attached to this relationship has now been cemented in a MoU that not only outlines areas but set an initial figure of $2 billion to be allocated to the development and projects in Guyana. This is [a] dynamic, futuristic, strong bold move on behalf of EXIM Bank in advancing this relationship.
“The areas we have identified show a broad multifaceted nature of the leadership of EXIM Bank. Anyone looking at Guyana [to invest] now narrowly focuses on oil and gas at their own detriment because there are significant other distinct advantages. [We are on the path to] becoming the leader in climate change, environmental services, biodiversity services, food security, food production and agriculture, and critical infrastructure … that can unlock tremendous potential for the vast array of natural resources we have. Unlocking the connection of North Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean, that will develop a logistics and transport hub second to none in scale, this is what we are talking about. This is not a simple MoU but a MoU that has the potential to unlock all of this,” Ali exulted.
