By Fareeza Haniff in Shanghai
Technology giant, Huawei says it will work towards establishing an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Academy in Guyana in addition to sending a team of technical engineers to provide support and assess the needs of the country’s private sector.
This was announced on Wednesday during President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s visit to the company’s Shanghai Research Centre.
The Head of State is leading a team of businessmen during a one-week visit to China and at the end of the meeting with Huawei, a working committee was formed with the ICT company, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed soon.
In his remarks, President Ali implored the need for Guyana to keep up with the rest of the world in terms of ICT development and urged Huawei to capitalize on this by using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He believes a Huawei Research and Development Centre in Guyana can cater to the entire Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
“A Huawei AI centre in Guyana that will cater to the entire LAC region and transform one of our faculties…into a Huawei Research and Development Centre and this will reposition your company in the region,” Dr. Ali said.
The Guyanese Head of State believes too that AI can help the hurricane-prone LAC region.
“A region that is hurricane prone – how can AI model hurricanes for more predictability?
“We can do it all from Guyana, we can have a centre in Guyana that helps the entire CARICOM region in terms of the predictability, modeling, impact analysis and flooding.”
According to the President, if necessary, Guyana can rebrand its Institute of Applied Science and Technology.
“I want my campus to say Huawei Research and Development Centre, where we can attract students from all over South America, the Caribbean and Latin America,” President Ali said.
He also urged the company to establish its AI work in Guyana’s dense forest. Meanwhile, Jeff Wang, Senior Vice President of Huawei, said the company is ready to work with the private sector and committed to establishing the ICT college.
Wang gave an overview of Huawei and its recent development and discussed latest trends in ICT.
He recommitted to Huawei’s stance that the company will be “in Guyana, for Guyana” by continuing its long-term investments into Guyana’s ICT market and fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities to local communities.
Wang also praised Guyana’s Information Communications Technology (ICT) Master Plan 2030 which was kicked off by President Ali last year, and expressed Huawei’s willingness to leverage its ICT expertise and experience to contribute to Guyana’s national strategy for digital transformation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article initially stated that Huawei’s interest is in establishing a Research and Development Centre in Guyana but was amended to accurately reflect that an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Academy is under consideration.
Sounds good to establish a Huawei research facility in Guyana and all the benefits thereof of such an establishment in the region. Whilst I applaud the forward thinking of the government in this regard I cannot but help to point out that this will be problematic from a security point of view, with our friends from up north, namely, the USA and Canada. Noting that there has been a blocking of Huawei technology by both those countries, citing national security concerns. Putting Huawei in close proximity to these powerful allies can and will be detrimental to Guyana’s and regional securities as well. This action needs VERY CAREFUL CONSIDERATION. CAUTION IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!