– attends 9th Future Investment Initiative in Saudi Arabia
Georgetown, Guyana—(October 28, 2025) His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali highlighted Guyana’s sweeping economic transformation, while emphasising his Government’s commitment to balancing the development of traditional sectors with forward-looking investments that address future challenges.
The President is currently attending the 9th Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Saudi Arabia, held under the theme “The Key to Prosperity—Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth”.
During a panel discussion with other Heads of State, President Ali spoke about Guyana’s rich biodiversity, its climate change portfolio, and the country’s rapid economic development under his administration.
“In Guyana’s case, we recently discovered oil, and that has truly ignited the rate and pace of transformation. It has also enabled us to make the right investments in human capital, health care, education, and technology. Regardless of a country’s size, every nation must be able to compete in a global system.”
He explained that to thrive globally, countries must establish robust infrastructure, education systems, health care, and food security. Guyana, he said, is now positioned to offer competitive energy, which will support its entry into the energy infrastructure space, where digitisation and artificial intelligence will play a major role.
“We are leapfrogging into the world beyond 2030, where AI, data centres, digitisation, and technology will be essential. While doing this, we are also investing in our traditional sectors.”
President Ali emphasised Guyana’s ambition to become the food capital of the world, while preserving its standing forests for the benefit of humanity. He also spoke extensively about Guyana’s leadership in forest conservation, climate action, and biodiversity stewardship.
“Everyone in this room agrees that climate change, tropical forest degradation, and deforestation are major global problems. Yet here is a country offering solutions to these challenges.”
He reminded that Guyana has one of the highest biodiversity densities in a world where nearly 60% of biodiversity has been lost over the past five decades. “We have one of the lowest deforestation rates globally, yet many are unaware of this. We store 19.5 gigatonnes of carbon, and still, few know about the country that holds this capacity. Our standing forest covers 89% of the country — this is the nation helping to keep the world alive.”
The FII is widely recognised as the world’s premier platform for responsible global investment. It aims to align financial growth with human development and sustainability, fostering dialogue on shaping a more equitable global economy.
The event also brought together some of the world’s most influential business leaders, including: Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan; BlackRock Chairman and CEO Laurence Fink; Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO David Solomon; Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon; and investor Bill Ackman, among others.