UAE and Guyana discuss strategic relations, future opportunities

Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), received Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana, and his delegation. The meeting was attended by senior officials from ADFD. The two sides discussed the strategic relations and future opportunities that serve mutual interests.

Al Suwaidi expressed his gratitude to President Irfaan Ali for the visit, saying it would go a long way in strengthening the ties through a more robust economic and investment cooperation.

“Abu Dhabi Fund for Development enjoys strong strategic relations with Guyana. We are already engaged in developmental work in the country. The visit of Dr. Irfaan Ali reflects the eagerness on both sides to take the developmental partnership to new heights.”

He pledged ADFD’s full support for Guyana’s developmental aspirations and efforts to achieve its sustainable goals.

Praising the UAE leadership over the country’s extraordinary development, Dr. Irfaan Ali said that the strong bilateral relations, as well as cooperation with ADFD, would enable Guyana to achieve his nation’s vision of prosperity.

“We see the UAE not only as a strategic trade and investment partner, but also as a global model of sustainable development, state-of-the art technology, infrastructure and governance. A stronger strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Fund would greatly facilitate our own developmental ambitions,” he said.

The President emphasised that the UAE has shown the world how to build a well-diversified economy with robust infrastructure. “That is exactly what we want to achieve in Guyana through our partnership with ADFD and key stakeholders in the UAE,” he said.

President Irfaan Ali explained that Guyana is already working closely with ADFD on infrastructure projects, including clean energy, and that a stronger collaboration would accelerate the country’s economic transformation and climate efforts.

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is a leading national financial entity owned by the Abu Dhabi government. It was established in 1971 with an aim to help developing countries strengthen their economies by providing concessionary loans for development projects as well as through long-term investments and direct contributions.

In addition to managing development grants given by the Abu Dhabi government, ADFD has adopted a policy of supporting the national economy by driving private-sector investments, financing national exports and enabling exporters to expand into global markets, thus enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE economy.

Water projects prominently figure in developmental initiatives of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD). Estimated at Dhs2 billion, these initiatives collectively benefited 18 countries while also powering other sectors such as agriculture, industry and energy.

The emphasis on water reflects ADFD’s commitment to the world to support efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG6 that seeks to ensure clean water and sanitation for all.

In a report published on World Water Day, which falls on March 22 each year, ADFD stated that the dams and water networks built with its financing in various countries have enabled their populations to obtain clean drinking water. ADFD has also helped reclaim vast arable land, improve crop quality and ensure food security.

The theme of World Water Day this year is groundwater, which draws attention to the fact that more than 2 billion people in the world do not have safely managed drinking water services, and that solid measures need to be taken to address the global water crisis. Approximately 40% of the total amount of water used for irrigation is derived from groundwater aquifers.

Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, said: “From the very beginning, ADFD has accorded great importance to the water and irrigation sector, owing to its significance in relation to the sixth Sustainable Development Goal, which is to ensure that everyone in the world has access to clean drinking water by 2030. The effect of the availability of water or the lack of it will reflect on many other sectors.”