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…“no better time” for Private Sector to tap UKEF’s £3B financing – Finance Minister

Trade between Guyana and the United Kingdom reached a record high of over £2.2 billion in the first quarter of this year, says British High Commissioner to Guyana, Joseph Fisher.
He made the revelation on Wednesday during a UK Export Finance (UKEF) Private Sector Financing Workshop aimed at highlighting financing opportunities for the local private sector.
“Today, Guyana is by some distance the UK’s largest trading partner in the Commonwealth Caribbean, accounting for almost 44 per cent of the UK’s total trade with the region. Trade between the UK and Guyana is today at record levels. In the latest figures, it is at more than £2.2 billion for the year to the end of Quarter One 2026,” he disclosed.
This is significant since according to the UK Department for Business and Trade, total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Guyana was £1.8 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2025, an increase of 8.7 per cent or £146 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q4 2024.
According to the British High Commissioner, potential exists for trade to further expand.
He pointed to opportunities through the UKEF which has raised its financing capacity for Guyana to £3 billion.
Fisher explained that over the past months, the High Commission has been engaging with the local private sector which expressed a strong interest in understanding more on how the UKEF works.
As such, he explained that the workshop was organised. It is intended to provide Guyanese private sector stakeholders with a better understanding of how UKEF financing works, the scope and scale of potential future UKEF engagement in Guyana, and the processes and requirements for accessing UKEF support. The session also explored how UKEF can support trade, investment, infrastructure development, and broader commercial collaboration between Guyana and the UK.
The British High Commissioner pointed out that Terminal Two of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is already being financed in part through UKEF but noted that “there is much, much more potential for UKEF engagement in Guyana”.
“And that potential sits across both the public and the private sector. Unlocking this potential requires an understanding from all parties not only of the opportunities but also of the processes,” he emphasised.

Priority Sectors
Caribbean Representative for UKEF, Judith Huijnen, informed the gathering of priority sectors such as renewable energy, transport infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and airports.
“Our goal is to support both public and private sector buyers here in Guyana. We have no minimum transaction size,” she noted.
Also addressing the gathering was Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh who remarked that the “overwhelming majority” of the £3 billion financing capacity remains available.
“As we go through this period in Guyana’s economic history, when the economy is growing as rapidly as it is, driven of course by the favourable policy environment that we’ve established in government and driven also and particularly by the extremely strong, favourable response by the private sector investing in good, bankable projects, there could be no better time than now for UKEF to be able to identify good projects in Guyana and indeed for the private sector in Guyana to engage with institutions like UKEF…in their effort to mobilise financing for their respective projects,” Dr Singh noted.
In this regard, the finance minister encouraged the local private sector to look beyond Guyana when searching for opportunities to raise financing, noting that “UKEF has demonstrated their enthusiasm to do business in Guyana”.
UKEF aids overseas buyers across the world in accessing the financial support they need to procure from the UK, unlocking the potential of the UK supply chain by making their bids more competitive.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has already indicated that UKEF funding could be used to finance the second phase of the Linden to Lethem Road Expansion Project, from Mabura Hill to Lethem, as well as the deep-water port facility in Berbice and the modernisation of the country’s electricity transmission system.

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Devesh Singh and Stefan Jeffrey topped the two Vitz Cup divisions, while Kevin Persaud, Matthew Vieira and David Hassan led the motorcycle classes during Sunday’s 2026 Speed Fest Track Day at the South Dakota Circuit.
Singh dominated the Vitz Cup B Class, collecting 65 points from the three races. Mikkely Rahaman finished second with 43 points, while Shemroy Ramsingh placed third with 38.
Jeffrey secured the Vitz Cup A Class honours with 53 points. Zachary Persaud and Ryan Ramoutar were both listed on 40 points, with Persaud taking second place in the classification. Paul Jiwanram finished fourth with 35 points, while Azaad Hassan earned 16.
The issued results also contained another entry for Ramoutar on 22 points.
In the Open Class Bikes, Kevin Persaud accumulated 65 points after winning two races and placing second in the other. Alain Hopkinson secured second place with 50 points, while Maurice Menezes finished third on 37.
Vieira also ended the day with 65 points to lead the 600cc Bikes division. Elan Rahaman was second with 43 points, followed by Jerry Da Silva on 37 and Adrian Mohar with 20.
Hassan completed a perfect outing in the Street Bikes class by winning all three races and collecting 65 points. Salim Azeez placed second with 50 points, while Elwin Chase was third with 37.
Christopher Bridgmohan finished fourth on 26 points, followed by Alestair Mendonca with 20. Fitzpatrick Augustus and Jerome Jones completed the classification with 11 points each.
The three-race format allowed competitors to recover from early setbacks and challenge for the overall honours. The event formed part of the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club’s 2026 calendar, with competitors earning points towards their respective class championships.

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…Qatar

Prezzie just visited Qatar – following up his previous trip in 2023 – the same year the Qatari Amir (King) dropped in our Mudland to have a first-hand look at the lay of our land!! Whatever he saw must’ve pleased him since from the lull since diplomatic relations were initiated back in 1996, the two Governments identified agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, education, health and investment as areas for cooperation – and signed the enabling agreement to facilitate same!! A Qatari diplomatic presence quickly followed and then we heard about a massive hospitality project in Georgetown’s Thomas Lands area. They also entered a consortium to develop one of our oil blocks.
With our relationship so far advanced, your Eyewitness expects Prezzie’s visit to Qatar should be about more than oil, handshakes and photographs – and the reports of the talks involving the Qatar Development Bank suggests that’s exactly what happened. With Qatar producing oil since the 1950s – and us catching them up at 1.3Mbpd – from their experience in parlaying their oil revenues to become a player in world affairs, we could learn a lot!!
And that’s so because unlike economic giants like the US and China that are vying for our attention, Guyana and Qatar have something important in common: both are small countries that suddenly found themselves with resources capable of transforming their futures!! And they’re an important strategic partner of the US – just as we hope to be!!
But we gotta enter the relationship with a clear idea of our needs. The Qataris got money, technology and experience in turning energy wealth into world-class infrastructure, aviation, hospitality, education and international business. But we got what Qatar cannot easily manufacture – vast agricultural land, abundant fresh water, a growing food-producing sector and a strategic location on South America’s northern shoulder!!
Food security could, therefore, become one of the most practical areas of cooperation – where we can produce more of the rice, vegetables, livestock and other foods that Qatar must now import. Conversely, Qatari investment can help us move beyond exporting raw commodities into modern irrigation, cold storage, food processing and packaging – areas we’re struggling to develop!! As we also are in areas that Qatar has pioneered – developing infrastructure, logistics, tourism, education, and financial services to prevent petroleum from becoming the whole economy!! Our South American location can also provide Qatar with a commercial doorway into markets far removed from Doha!!
The relationship, therefore, shouldn’t be one of “rich country helping poor country”. We ain’t just seeking development assistance – we’re offering land, resources, markets, and strategic location in exchange for capital, expertise, and access!!
The best diplomacy is sometimes simply good business and with Qatar, we’ve got an opportunity to make each other more useful to the world!!

…also, energy expertise
Prezzie has long spoken of us refining our own crude and converting our natural gas into higher-value liquids – and your Eyewitness thinks Qatar’s just the country to help turn those ambitions into practical projects!! Qatar ain’t just another oil producer – they’ve spent decades developing the technology, infrastructure, and expertise to convert oil and gas into value-added products!! This expertise is exactly what we need to monetise our own energy future and so we shouldn’t just be asking Doha to invest – but to teach and partner!!
A refinery’s gonna reduce our dependence on imported petroleum products and increase value of our crude – while gas processing could supply exportable LNG!! The attraction for Qatar is clear – we offer abundant hydrocarbons and a strategic foothold in South America and the Caribbean!!
So instead of reinventing the wheel – or spending billions learning expensive lessons Qatar’s already learned – we could tap into Qatari experience!! The oil boom’s given us the resources –  Qatar can help provide a First World roadmap!!

…criticism
When a high US official repeated US Secty of State Marco Rubio’s mocking reference to Chinese shoddy and delayed projects here, the Chinese Embassy huffily retorted “Ain’t us!!”
What say they to the Chinese-built ECD road with telegraph poles left in the middle??!

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