Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh last week met in Washington with key US government officials including from the EXIM Bank but there was no word on the pivotal US$660 million financing that Guyana is seeking for its ambitious gas to energy project.
A press release yesterday from the Ministry of Finance said that Singh met with the Senior Advisor to the President and Chair, Larry T. Decker, and other senior and technical officials of the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the United States in Washington DC. where discussions surrounding the Bank’s support towards the gas to energy project which the government has said will cut energy charges by half.
The press release yesterday varied from the constant line of a 50% cut by stating it would “significantly reduce electricity costs”.
The project “when completed, is expected to significantly reduce electricity costs, increase the competitiveness of other industries, and reduce the nation’s reliance on heavy fossil fuels. During that high-level meeting, Dr. Singh also expressed appreciation to the Bank for their continued support to Guyana, and reiterated that the Government values greatly, its relationship with the Bank”, the release said.
The government has vowed to find alternative means to finance the gas project if the US EXIM Bank funding isn’t approved.
In the face of a delay to the US$660 million loan application to finance the Wales gas-to-energy project, coupled with the US’ recent pausing on new approvals of LNG exports which activists hope would extend globally, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said in February this year that Guyana would consider other plans.
“I don’t want to speculate about the EXIM Bank funding because we anticipate that the funding will be available, and as I have said before, it would be retroactive funding. However, without disclosing the sources that we have, we have already been talking about a contingent line of credit that could easily supplant that,” he told a press conference at Freedom House in Georgetown.
“Secondly, from the Budget. We have already been financing, beyond the first US$100 million that we have put into the project, from budgetary sources. So that is the first year. We have been making payments to the company from the budget. So those are the two sources – [our] own revenue from the Budget and from a contingent line of credit that we are already discussing,” he added.
In July 2022, the Government of Guyana and the EXIM Bank of the United States signed a historic US$2 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with specific focus on infrastructure, energy, water and sanitation, information and communications technology, and agriculture. Then in April of 2023, Guyana made the US$660 million loan application.
During the four-day visit to the United States, the release said that Singh, accompanied by Guyana’s Ambassador to the US, Samuel Hinds, met with the Deputy Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Treasury, Michael Kaplan, in Washington DC. where he updated Kaplan on recent economic developments and prospects in Guyana and explored opportunities for the two countries to collaborate on matters of shared interest. He also reiterated the Government of Guyana’s commitment to maintaining a favourable macroeconomic environment and strong institutional framework which will facilitate increased opportunities for US companies to do business in Guyana.
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The release said that Singh also met with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming, Isobel Coleman.
“At that meeting Dr. Singh alluded to Guyana’s overall economic growth of 49.7 percent and the non-oil growth 12.6 percent in the first half of 2024, representing the fourth successive year of expansion in the non-oil economy at the half-year. He further outlined the efforts being made by Government to ensure that this sustained strong economic growth redounds to the benefit of all Guyanese. The two teams also explored a number of avenues for further collaboration going forward”.
Singh also met with US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Jose W. Fernandez, and Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Energy Resources, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, at the State Department where discussions focused on a number of avenues for closer cooperation in “advancing the agenda for economic growth and improving the lives of the Guyanese people, including in the areas of energy security, human capital development, and pandemic preparedness in the context of the Economic and Health Dialogue of the Americas”.
The release said that Singh further reiterated that the Government of Guyana places the “highest level of importance on the special relationship shared with the US” as he used the opportunity to restate appreciation, on behalf of President Irfaan Ali, and the Government and People of Guyana, of the US’s strong support for the restoration of democracy in 1992, and its preservation during the 2020 General and Regional Elections. He also thanked the US for unequivocally supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Guyana in relation to the border controversy with Venezuela.
The Senior Minister later met with the Assistant United States Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere, Daniel Watson where discussions centred on enhancing the trade and investment partnership between the US and Guyana with Singh emphasizing that the US continues to be one of Guyana’s most significant trading partners, and reiterated Government commitment to maintaining a strong institutional environment, and a favourable macroeconomic environment conducive to US companies doing business in Guyana.
Singh also net with the Executive President of the CAF (Corporacion Andina de Fomento Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), Sergio Díaz-Granados. The release said that the Minister explained that the Government is open to partnership with CAF and would like to see the bank play a role in Guyana’s transformation currently underway. The two sides also explored ways in which the financial institution can partner with the Government to ensure that the” current aggressive infrastructure build-out is financed optimally, and that critical investments are made toward further boosting the economy and diversifying a number of critical sectors in the country”.
The Ministry’s Facebook page said that Singh also met with the World Bank’s Vice President for the Latin America and Caribbean Region, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo.
