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Int’l Energy Conference & Expo 2nd edition opens today with 1200 participants

– PM Rowley, Gonsalves & fmr Colombian President to address gathering – other Heads of State to make virtual appearance

The International Energy Conference and Expo Guyana 2023 continues to garner support, both locally and internationally. The conference and expo has already received endorsements from a range of public figures including Minister of Natural Resources Vickram Bharrat.

This year, the conference and expo is being hosted under the theme “Harnessing Energy for Development” and is expected to assemble Heads of State and Government, Government officials, policymakers, academics, industry professionals, and global energy thought leaders.

Lottery Numbers

The Guyana Energy Conference, which is slated to kick off today, February 14, will see the attendance of over 1200 people including high-profile guests such as Trinidadian Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and St Vincent and the Grenadines Head of State, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

On Monday, the organisers of the Guyana Energy Conference held a press briefing just one day before the event. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kurt Baboolall revealed some of the big names to attend, including current and former Heads of State. Baboolall also gave a breakdown of the over 1200 attendees expected for the conference.

“We have, for the first time, Prime Minister Keith Rowley. We also have Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. Our Excellency (President Dr Irfaan Ali). And we also have spoken, the ex-President of Columbia, Ivan Duque,” Baboolall said.

“So far in total, we have over 1200 participants, which include exhibitors, sponsors, speakers, and our delegations. We have approximately 200 exhibitors, 30 sponsors, and just over 800 delegates, the CEO added.

In addition to the expected signing of agreements, there will also be a session dedicated to young professionals. Baboolall explained what this session will entail.

He also explained that the exhibition tickets are being sold at GY$5000.

“Something different, we did this year, we have a young professionals forum or session which runs from 9 to 12. And the purpose of that session is to give young professionals who are both entrepreneurial and career-minded, an opportunity to have an overview of the energy sector and it will also be a networking event.”

“They will have an opportunity to walk with their proposals, and their CVs and gain great insight into what’s happening in the energy sector. From announcing it last week to now, the numbers are currently at

350 registrants for that particular day.”

The conference will run from Tuesday, which will feature the opening ceremony and presentations from the most high-profile guests, until Friday, February 17. The final day will see a youth engagement forum being held.

Invited speakers, young professionals and Government agencies will come together and discuss opportunities as well as specific challenges that exist for youth. Presentations will be centred around management skills, entrepreneurship, mentorship and energy sector skills development.

Following the main session, participants at the youth engagement forum will be provided with opportunities to learn from and engage with leading experts in these areas, while being allowed to ask questions and network.

In line with the goals and objectives of the Local Content Policy, it is anticipated that the conference and expo will promote Guyana as an oil and gas investment destination, establish and strengthen productive industry relationships, and offer a platform for local businesses to access collateral and joint ventures.

The last time the conference and expo was held, it was able to attract over 30 sponsors and 150 exhibitors. This year, the conference will have more delegates, sponsors, and exhibitors. In the short to medium term, the conference plans to promote its portfolio of spinoff oil and gas assets in addition to national infrastructure projects.

Editor: Tusika Martin

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Love & affection for each other, for Guyana

Today, as we celebrate Valentine’s Day, most Guyanese would exchange tokens and expressions of affection and love with others, especially couples.

Valentine’s Day has its origin as a Christian feast day which honours one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, but, through later folk traditions, it has become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world.

But how do we relate to each other as Guyanese? Nowadays, especially in the public sphere, some of our relations are characterised by rancour and bitterness, precipitated by those emotions dominating our political relations.

We would like to remind all Guyanese of a message we first offered during the Jubilee Year of our Independence. Our country is our mother, and, going forward, it is hoped that we would each spare her a thought, and act in a manner that expresses some “love and affection” for her. What can we do? Having achieved Independence from Britain 57 years ago, there cannot be a Guyanese who has not recited the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag, the Golden Arrowhead. We have all therefore taken the following vow, with our hands across our breasts to emphasise our seriousness about the words recited:

“I pledge myself to honour always the flag of Guyana/ and to be loyal to my country;/ to be obedient to the laws of Guyana; to love my fellow citizens, and to dedicate my energies towards/ the happiness and prosperity of Guyana.” Today, following Valentine’s Day, let us repeat and try to put into effect our promises in our “Pledge of Allegiance”.

There is that promise to “honour always” our flag – which, of course, is a symbol of our nation. In making the promise, we are asserting that Guyana must be honoured, and, as such, we must never let its flag be sullied. In the end, we would only be allowing our individual selves to be dishonoured. We are not sure that enough has been done to inculcate into our citizens the respect of flag and country that, for instance, was insisted on in reference to the Union Jack of Britain during the colonial era.

The prior question is whether Guyanese citizens have a deep sense of loyalty to their country – which is the second promise. Would they react positively to JFK’s famous exhortation: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”? While one cannot speak conclusively on this issue, anecdotal evidence suggests that it does not take much for Guyanese to “bad-mouth” their country, and even to “shake the dust off their feet” from it. We are reminded of some Guyanese who would actually advise investors to avoid our country.

Obeying the laws of a country is the sine qua non of peace and stability, and is summarised in the phrase “rule of law”, which exhorts all that they are “under” the law equally. There are troubling signs that this is being violated. But equality of treatment under the law is one of the most important practices that must be adhered to if the country is to be honoured and loyalty inspired. And since we have taken an oath to obey the laws, we must help in insuring that others also do the same. This does not mean that there may not be “bad” laws, but that the law itself would encompass procedures that would allow the people to deliberate on and change them, if that is the general consensus.

And we arrive at our promise to love each other as citizens. That is an important distinction: we have not promised to love someone in general, but as “citizens”. We, Guyanese, are all citizens of this country, and, as such, are endowed with particular rights and responsibilities towards each other and the country. To “love” another citizen, we each have to ensure that we do not infringe on their rights, and that we assist them to fulfil their obligations. In that sense, we are our brothers’ (and sisters’) keepers.

The final promise is that we do all within our power towards “the happiness and prosperity of Guyana”. We commend this to our politicians, officials, legislators, and all our office bearers.

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