Dear Editor,
The Guyanese diaspora in America praise President Irfaan Ali for his engagements with them. Few global leaders engage their diaspora like President Irfaan, and the scarce interactions of his immediate predecessor are not a comparison. President Ali had countless engagements with the diaspora, which came across as a strategic pillar of outreach to promote and showcase the country in order to attract investors as well as to involve the diaspora in the nation’s development growth. He sees the diaspora as a powerful tool for Guyana’s developmental aspirations and trajectory to become a Caribbean Dubai or Singapore; he encourages diasporic participation in Guyana.
Few global leaders engage their diaspora when they travel abroad; Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali is among them. President Ali’s engagement with the diaspora has consistently come across as a strategic pillar of Guyana’s outreach to promote and showcase development of the country in order to attract investors as well as to involve the diaspora in the nation’s growth. He sees the diaspora as a powerful tool for Guyana’s developmental aspirations and trajectory to become a Caribbean Dubai or Singapore; he encourages diasporic participation in Guyana.
President Ali does not see the diaspora in terms of segments but as “one”. His “One Guyana” policy sees all Guyanese abroad and at home as one people. His outreaches to the diaspora have become one of the most distinctive and admired elements of his governance style. He has consistently interacted with the diaspora since he became President; and even before the 2020 elections when he got elected, he engaged Guyanese in every major location they are settled and continues to do so whenever he travels abroad. He and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo (in addition to when the latter was President 1999-2011) engaged the diaspora multiple times with much success like no other Guyanese leader, except maybe Dr Cheddi Jagan.
Irfaan’s engagement with the diaspora has become one of the most defining features of his foreign policy style since 2020. No Guyanese leader, other than Jagdeo and Jagan, so consistently engaged overseas community gatherings – Queens, Brooklyn, Toronto, London, Miami, Washington, Houston, Trinidad, etc – He has recognised that the diaspora can be a bridge for bilateral ties with the USA, UK, Canada, and other countries where there is an active Guyanese presence. He, like Jagdeo and Cheddi, also recognises that the diaspora can be a source for funding of projects in Guyana and for investment. It is not forgotten that elements in the diaspora, including this writer, lobbied for the restoration of democratic governance in Guyana during that long period of authoritarian rule from 1966 to 1992 and again to protect democracy in 2020 when it was under severe stress.
Whenever Irfaan or Jagdeo visited overseas and time permitted, they engaged the diaspora. They consistently praised the diaspora’s role in championing democracy in Guyana, for providing financial and material assistance to the homeland during difficult times, and for promoting ties with nations that host the diaspora; previous PPP/C leaders like Janet Jagan and Donald Ramotar also praised the work of the diaspora in the struggle for democracy in the homeland and for their economic and political contributions.
President Irfaan and VP Jagdeo have consistently highlighted Guyana’s transformation over the past six years, citing major achievements such as poverty reduction and exponential growth rates as well as improvement in standard of living. Diasporic communities tend to respond enthusiastically to the race-free messaging of PPP political leaders during open engagements. The outreaches of both leaders and, occasionally, Prime Minister Mark Phillips with the diaspora appealed to all ethnicities, underscoring their strategy: leveraging the diaspora as economic connectors to strengthen Guyana’s economy and their connection with their homeland and continuing to help protect democratic gains for which the diaspora fought.
The theme of the messaging tends to energise overseas Guyanese, reinforcing a shared sense of pride in Guyana’s progress, the journey from which Guyana has evolved from being a very poor country a decade ago to an upper middle-income country. The diaspora outreaches have been infused with the language of economic power — growth, development, higher income, wealth, etc. In their engagements, President Irfaan and VP Jagdeo would talk about the recent past and make comparisons with the present. By highlighting Guyana’s development milestones and trajectory, they invite overseas Guyanese to see themselves as stakeholders in the country’s rise. This emotional appeal of the development of their country — rooted in nostalgia and identity — has proven remarkably effective in stirring up pride in their country and evoking nationalist feelings among patriotic diasporans. The messaging also reinforces a sense of belonging among diaspora communities who, despite living abroad, remain emotionally tethered to Guyana. Their appeal to the diaspora to return home resonates strongly with communities, suggesting overseas Guyanese are of significant importance to the country’s development. They may not return home, but they eagerly maintain family and cultural ties while establishing roots abroad.
President Ali is saluted for elevating overseas community engagement into a powerful instrument of invited economic participation and pride.