After serving almost five years as the resident Ambassador for the United States of America (USA) to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch departs.
The diplomat leaves behind her legacy of tripled bilateral trade and deeper business and political connections.
“A bittersweet moment,” as she described it but it came with assurances that U.S. support for Guyana is here to stay, long after she leaves.
During her final press engagement on Thursday, Lynch highlighted the shared goals of prosperity, security, and good governance.
“We worked hard to tell Guyana’s story of transformation and attract investors,” the outgoing Ambassador said, noting that these people will continue to do business here after she is gone.
She said the U.S. has supported and will continue to support the preservation of Guyana’s biodiversity. So too will the support for talented Guyanese entrepreneurs and training for hundreds of security professionals and government experts.
“The U.S. government remains committed to Guyana’s security and territorial integrity,” Lynch told media operatives as she promised the continued provision of tools to combat trafficking and support community policing.
“We know positive change takes continued effort, but the United States government is proud to be a partner who is here to stay.
“We will continue to partner with Guyana in the critical areas of governance, economic development and security and we will also continue to invest in Guyana’s growing and vital civil society,” Lynch assured reporters.
She said there are several streams of support for Guyana that will continue long into the future.
Among these streams of support is the US$2 billion agreement to finance projects in Guyana – outside of oil and gas. Lynch said deals are being hammered out for American companies to invest in significant projects here.
She said there was no competition with Guyana’s other bilateral partners such as China.
“We’ve tripled the bilateral trade over the last few years so I think we are here, we are strong and we will remain here,” she noted while acknowledging that China’s footprint is growing in Guyana as well as the broader Caribbean.
Lynch said American companies were being educated about the local procurement processes so as to ensure their competitiveness.
“Guyana has been able to attract many investors already but at the rate at which companies are coming here to look at the opportunities I think the more the country can do to modernize to digitize to have a process that’s easy to navigate. For companies that will be a guy on the stage,” she advised.
