Dear Editor,
AT both of his swearing-in ceremonies in August 2020 and again in September 2025, President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s pledge to the nation to advance Guyana’s interests and make it a fully recognised country at the international level has come full circle, when President Donald Trump invited and personally greeted him at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Miami, Florida on March 7, 2026. As seen in the pictures, President, Dr Ali was one of two leaders from the larger CARICOM states to join a coalition of nations dedicated to promoting freedom, democracy, peace and security and regional co-operation in the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere.
According to President Trump, it was a shared commitment to dismantle the drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations and ensure peace and stability in the Region. President Trump respectfully thanked President, Dr Ali for attending the summit and said he looked forward to working with him to strengthen economic, political and security ties with Guyana in future. President Trump also praised the Guyana Head of State for his superb and excellent leadership in the Region, especially in the areas of reducing the region’s food imports, enhancing regional self-sufficiency, infrastructural development across the region, improved security against narco-trafficking, energy co-operation and democratic governance.
As Guyana’s ninth Executive President, His Excellency Dr Irfaan Ali is the fourth Head of State to formally meet with a president of the United States. Forbes Burnham who was the first met with President Lyndon Johnson at the White House on the 26th of July 1968; 20 years later, President Desmond Hoyte met with President Ronald Reagan on September 13, 1988, and Dr Cheddi Jagan met with President Bill Clinton on August 30, 1993. However, it is important to point out that President, Dr Ali’s meeting with President Donald Trump marked a significant shift in relations with the United States in that unlike the other Heads of State, his visit was not categorised as an ad hoc meeting. In fact, his meeting with Trump evolved in a more significant and consistent long-term strategic partnership aimed at reinforcing relations between Guyana and the United States, focusing primarily on regional peace and stability, reduced or end the illegal trans-shipment of drugs to and from the Region—issues President, Dr Ali has pioneered since taking office.
His Excellency has been credited with significantly improving Guyana’s economic and political relationship with the United States, transforming it into a trusted and dependable partnership that is rooted in shared interests. Over the last five years, President, Dr Ali has worked very closely with the U.S. military personnel to upgrade and augment the Guyana Defence Force’s capability, after several threats by Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro to annex the oil-rich Essequibo region, which comprises two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. However, the U.S. and its allies as well as Brazil and the CARICOM states have reaffirmed their full support for Guyana’s sovereignty and for the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace,” a resolution adopted in 2014 by the 33 states of The Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) to promote regional integration, sovereignty, political dialogue and non-intervention.
Guyanese at home and in the diaspora are proud of President Ali who during the last five years has cultivated a high level of diplomatic relations in the Caribbean, Latin America and the international community of nations, including the United States. He has received praise from several world leaders, including the Secretary of the U.S. State Department Mr Marco Rubio for his courageous and steadfast leadership in promoting regional peace and global stability. Guyana’s Head of State has emerged as a world leader, significantly elevated Guyana’s international standing, and transforming it into a widely recognised global partner. Under his leadership, Guyana has achieved immense global acclaim.