The World Bank has signalled its intention to enhance its partnership with Guyana in a number of areas, including health, education, poverty reduction, housing, flood mitigation, and food security.
This is according to the World Bank’s Division Director for the Caribbean, Achim Fock, during an engagement with President Dr Irfaan Ali and his Cabinet Ministers on Wednesday at State House in Georgetown.
According to the Office of the President in a Facebook post following the high-level meeting, “The World Bank team reiterated its commitment to working with President Ali and his Government to advance cooperation and partnerships on projects in health, education, poverty reduction, housing, flood mitigation and food security, among other areas.”
During Wednesday’s meeting, President Ali was joined by Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation Minister, Zulfikar Ally.
The World Bank official and his team are in Guyana as the World Bank’s Guyana and Suriname Country Representative, Diletta Doretti, wraps up her term here.
Some of the projects on which the bank and Government collaborated include the Guyana One Health, the Caribbean Efficient and Green Buildings, and the Human Capital Development and Integrated Transport Corridor projects.
Fock, an agriculture specialist, was recently appointed as the bank’s Division Director for the Caribbean. His role is to lead the bank’s strategic engagement and the operational portfolio across Caribbean countries, overseeing lending, analytical, and advisory work, and trust funds aimed at advancing sustainable and resilient development across the region.
The German national is qualified in the areas of agriculture and agricultural economics, while he also holds more than 25 years of professional experience with the World Bank. He managed the Development Effectiveness Unit for South Asia and was Senior Economist for several countries in Africa, East Asia, and Eastern Europe.
During his visit to Georgetown, Fock met with Prime Minister (PM) Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips at the Office of the PM.
Discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in support of Guyana’s development priorities, with emphasis on the energy sector and renewable energy.
PM Phillips was joined by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Dr Mahender Sharma.
Continued partnership
Fock also met with Minister Singh at the Finance Ministry on Tuesday. He was joined by the outgoing World Bank representative Doretti and her replacement, the incoming World Bank representative for Guyana and Suriname Juan Carlos Alvarez, as well as other officials of the international financial institution.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Minister Singh and the officials discussed continued partnership between the bank and Government, where he also expressed appreciation for the work already done over the last years as Government, and the financial institution liaised on several successful projects which contributed to not only transformation in various economic sectors, but allowed for much of the transformation countrywide.
Just last month, Minister Singh engaged the outgoing World Bank Resident Representative in Guyana and lauded her contributions to the country’s development during her four-year tenure.
During a courtesy call, the Finance Minister credited Doretti with helping to strengthen cooperation between Guyana and the financial institution while supporting the country’s national development agenda.
According to the Ministry, her tenure saw efforts to advance sustainable economic growth, human capital development and climate resilience. It also noted that the integration of the World Bank Group’s Operations and Institutional Offices in Guyana helped improve access to support for both the public and private sectors.
A release from the Finance Ministry in July highlighted several areas where collaboration with the World Bank produced results during Doretti’s tenure.
In education, the partnership supported the expansion and modernisation of secondary school infrastructure, while investments were also made in teacher training and digital learning tools aimed at improving learning outcomes.
Moreover, in climate resilience, the World Bank provided financing and technical assistance for coastal protection works, drainage rehabilitation and flood risk management projects designed to reduce the impact of climate-related hazards on vulnerable communities.
The partnership also focused on strengthening Guyana’s health sector by supporting improvements in public healthcare delivery during and after the COVID-19 pandemic while expanding access to quality healthcare services in rural and hinterland communities.
During the meeting, Doretti had reflected on her time in Guyana and expressed appreciation for the cooperation she received throughout her tenure. She also reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to maintaining its partnership with Guyana.
The World Bank is one of the international financial institutions which played a key role in supporting Guyana during its late 1980s and early 1990s economic crises that lasted throughout the tenure of the People’s National Congress (PNC). It took much work and dedication by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), which was elected to office in 1992, to lead the country out of debt.
During that period, the Bank assisted Government with reforms along with international financial programs that helped restore the country’s fiscal solvency and debt relief eligibility, a long road which has now led to where Guyana currently stands at economic and landscape transformation driven by offshore oil with a thriving and diversified economy.
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