Guyana, Qatar to strengthen diplomatic relations, cooperation

Office of the President release

(Georgetown, Guyana) October 13, 2020 –His Excellency, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali discussed several key areas of collaboration and cooperation with the Emir of Qatar, His Royal Highness, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during a telephone conversation earlier today.

Qatar’s Emir used the opportunity to express congratulations to President Ali on his inauguration and committed his willingness to assist Guyana.

The areas identified for collaboration include support for the Agriculture Sector through investments in the Halaal industry, expansion of the housing programme, the strengthening of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and support in other critical sectors including Energy, Oil and Gas, Services and Infrastructure.

Notably, the two leaders discussed the fight against the Coronavirus Pandemic and critical areas of support for Guyana. To this end, His Royal Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani committed to providing Guyana with much-needed equipment including portable military hospitals and ventilators, which will significantly bolster Guyana’s capabilities in fighting the pandemic.

Both President Ali and His Royal Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani committed to mobilising technical teams from both countries, immediately following the discussions. The teams will include the Foreign Ministers of both countries as well as the Energy Minister from Qatar and Guyana’s Natural Resources Minister and Agriculture Minister.

Following the engagement, the teams will also proceed to design programmes and projects to access resources from the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD).

QFFD is a public development institution committed, on behalf of the State of Qatar, to implement external aid projects under Law No. 19 of 2002 and its amendments. It has provided aid to several countries around the world to achieve the international cooperation goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The Qatar Fund for Development's main goal is to achieve inclusive and sustainable development, by addressing priority issues of education, health and economic empowerment.

The two Heads of State committed to visiting each other to discuss the partnership between the two countries further.