The United States is seeking closer collaboration with Guyana and the private sector to accelerate investment in technology and artificial intelligence, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said.
Speaking on US support for technological transformation and financing linked to the AI revolution, Helberg said Washington remained committed to its intellectual property practices while encouraging partnerships that foster innovation and investment.
“We have a very positive approach to partnerships and sometimes that means joint ventures which inherently includes the sharing of knowledge.
Today’s conversation focused in great part on how can the US government and the Guyanese government work together to create the right incentives and the right business environment that will actually accelerate private capital investment in these technological verticals,” he stated.
Helberg said policymakers could pursue economic growth either through government-funded projects or by creating conditions that encourage private sector investment.
“In our administration we have a very strong commitment to working in close partnership with the private sector because we think that is where the capital is more scalable.
The American private sector has over 55 trillion dollars of floating assets, and ultimately that is the single biggest pool of investment that would be most beneficial to Guyana as well as to the US. And so we really spend a lot of time focusing on those incentives and what the right perimeters would be to accelerate private investment,” he explained.
He added that recent discussions with President Irfaan Ali focused on developing technical approaches to help both countries accelerate private investment in sectors with strong growth potential.
According to Helberg, a working group may also be established to ensure consistent engagement and follow-through on agreed initiatives.
He said there was “perfect alignment” between both sides on the goal of accelerating private investment and positioning Guyana among the most prosperous economies in the western hemisphere.
Helberg added that achieving this goal would require conditions such as the protection of private and intellectual property rights.
