With its rich biodiversity, President Irfaan Ali has asserted that Guyana is currently “keeping the world alive.”
He made the statement during his address at the 9th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum hosted in Saudi Arabia, under the theme, “The Key to Prosperity – Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth.”
During an energetic delivery, the President boasted that Guyana has managed to keep its biodiversity intact, even in a world that has lost nearly 60 percent of its biodiversity in the last 50 to 60 years.
“We have one of the highest biodiversity rates by density in Guyana, and yet so many persons are not aware. We have one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world, yet many people are not aware. We store 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon, yet many persons are not aware. We have a standing forest that is 89 percent of the country, yet so many persons are not aware that this is the country that is keeping the world alive,” he stressed.
President Ali further shared that the bold direction in which Guyana is going is different from the challenges faced by the world today.
“Everybody in this room would say climate change is a big problem, the tropical forests is a big problem, deforestation is a big problem – and here is a country that is providing solutions to these problems, that has kept the standing forests intact, and we don’t know. And that is the problem. We don’t know because the direction in which we’re going is different from the challenges the world is facing,” he said.
The President also shared his belief that leaders should examine their priorities and shy away from what he described as “the big country syndrome,” in an effort to understand what is happening with the rest of the world and what is being offered to assist with climate challenges currently being faced.
He noted that leaders are shaped by the boldness of their thinking, and if Guyana limits its ability to be innovative and transformative due to its size, then it limits its ability to be competitive. The President said this is why investments such as in human capital, technology, and infrastructure are important aspects of staying alive and remaining competitive.
President Ali was joined by global leaders, including the Presidents of Rwanda, Colombia, Bulgaria, and Kosovo, as well as the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Albania.
The FII, widely recognised as the world’s premier platform for responsible global investment, aims to align financial growth with human development and sustainability, fostering discussions on shaping a more equitable global economy.
The event also brought together some of the world’s most influential business figures — among them Intel CEO Lip Bu-Tan, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Laurence Fink, Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, and prominent investor Bill Ackman — who engaged in high-level dialogues on the future of innovation, technology, and inclusive growth.
