HGP Nightly News – President Irfaan Ali has unveiled an ambitious blueprint for Guyana’s future, declaring that the nation’s oil wealth will be harnessed to deliver what he terms “even prosperity”, a vision that redefines success not as equal bank balances, but as a guaranteed baseline of excellence in public services for every citizen.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 2026 Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo, the president made clear that his government’s strategy is to leverage the lucrative oil and gas sector as an engine to power growth across all industries, ensuring the benefits of the boom reach every corner of society.
“Even prosperity does not mean that everybody must have the same amount of money in the bank account,” President Ali explained to an audience of global energy leaders and investors. “Even prosperity means that the country must be able to give a baseline level of service to every citizen in health, in education, in recreation, in social infrastructure, in support for children, creating a baseline of excellence and quality for the citizens of the country.”
The president stressed that genuine prosperity demands an economy constantly generating job opportunities, anchored by an unwavering commitment to human capital development. He posed a challenge that cut to the heart of national ambition: “If we can achieve all the beautiful buildings, the beautiful infrastructure but if we don’t improve our human development then what would be the use of all these beautiful things?”
Beyond job creation, President Ali outlined sustained heavy investment in physical infrastructure as the skeleton upon which economic growth depends. He framed these investments in stark, practical terms, asking: “We can have all the mega farms but if you don’t have the farm to market roads to bring the produce out, where will it go? We can speak forever that Guyana is located in the best geographic zone and if you don’t build the darn deep-water port, what will come out of it?”
Grounding his vision in hard-nosed reality, the president asserted that development must translate into measurable economic value. “The bottom line is the pocket,” he stated with characteristic directness.
President Ali was careful to distinguish between spending and genuine progress. Prosperity, he argued, is not achieved through expenditure alone, but through “spending plus strategic alliances, integration and partnership.” Guyana, he declared, is building a model that refuses to postpone development.
The president highlighted transformative investments in the Wales development zone, including the Gas-to-Energy Project, gas processing facilities, fertiliser and industrial development, and plans for a scalable data centre designed to position Guyana as a regional technology hub. He also underscored the importance of transport and logistics integration, pointing to deep-water port development, enhanced connectivity with northern Brazil, and proposals for new municipal airports in Lethem and Region Six as critical to positioning Guyana as a gateway between South America and the Caribbean.
The three-day Energy Conference, running from February 17 to 20, has drawn global energy leaders, investors, and policymakers eager to explore opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. President Ali’s address delivered a clear message: Guyana’s ambition extends far beyond extraction, to genuine, lasting transformation.
