Guyana’s Evolving Global Influence: Bridging the Caribbean and South America

Regional Affairs

Guyana positioned itself as a bridge between the Caribbean and South America after gaining independence in 1966. The country leveraged its unique geographic location, shared colonial history, and cultural ties. In 1968, Guyana joined Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent to form the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) and later became a founding member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) formed in 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Georgetown, Guyana’s capital city where the CARICOM Secretariat is still located. These early moves underscored Guyana’s commitment to regional integration.

Like our Caribbean and South American neighbors, Guyana grappled with serious economic challenges during the 1980s. The stifling debt crisis forced Guyana to adopt a structural adjustment program in 1988 as part of an “Economic Recovery Program” overseen by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Although Guyana’s regional role was significantly diminished by these challenges, tensions with Venezuela over territorial claims to the Essequibo region remained unresolved. Guyana has relied on diplomacy through regional multilateral organizations and international legal mechanisms to bring about a peaceful resolution. Guyana’s transforming economic landscape is allowing it to invest in infrastructure, technology and other development projects in collaboration with several CARICOM sister nations. This helps to fortify the position of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), and the overall economic health of the Caribbean community. Guyana’s leadership in climate initiatives, such as its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) underscores its vision and support for regional environmental policy improvement. Its dual identity as a Caribbean and South American nation continues to facilitate dialogue and integration between these regions.

Global Affairs

Guyana’s foreign policy position post-independence emphasized multilateral diplomacy. Guyana became a member of the United Nations (UN) in September 1966, less than four months after gaining independence from the United Kingdom in May 1966. The country navigated the bipolar tensions of the Cold War era, post-independence by remaining neutral while advocating for the interests of developing countries and the Caribbean region specifically. Guyana’s alignment with socialist and non-aligned states earned it recognition as a leader among smaller nations. Early and robust advocacy for decolonization and anti-apartheid movements demonstrated Guyana’s commitment to global justice.

Economic problems are mainly responsible for Guyana’s diminished global influence. Guyana shows exemplary global leadership in sustainable development initiatives. Robust efforts in the areas of sustainable forestry practices and climate change mitigation earned Guyana partnerships with international bodies gaining support for its forest preservation efforts. These initiatives helped Guyana earn a reputation as a small state making significant contributions to global environmental policy reform.

More recently, the discovery and production of vast petroleum reserves accompanied by a highly contested presidential election in 2020 pushed Guyana into the global economic and political spotlight. By 2024, Guyana had become the world’s fastest-growing economy. Guyana now commands the attention of major powers, including the United States, China, and the European Union and has attracted historic inflows of foreign direct investment. Guyana’s dramatic income growth coupled with its strategic partnerships with global oil conglomerates and international institutions help to strengthen perceptions of its elevated global profile. Perhaps of greater consequence is the strategies for balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability, and how that has positioned Guyana as a key voice in global climate and energy forums.

In 2023, Guyana’s proactive approach to peacefully resolve the border claim brought by Venezuela through international legal mechanisms at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demonstrated a commitment to the rule-based international order. Then in January 2024, Guyana assumed its seat as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term 2024-2025. Six months later in July 2024, Guyana and the United States held the first-ever Guyana-United States strategic dialogue to discuss issues of mutual interest. This initial strategic exchange represents a significant shift in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. This dialogue has significant implications for economic and security cooperation and is a distinct indication of the evolving global strategic importance of Guyana. 

               All these and other events associated with Guyana’s evolving global and regional position have implications for Guyanese, both at home and in the diaspora. These evolving relationships involve policy changes that directly affect citizens economically, politically and socially. From trade and investment policies to finance and banking, immigration, travel and employment, to communications and other technologies, Guyanese at home and abroad should be kept aware and engaged on these important changes occurring both nationally and regionally. 

Given the colonial link to Britain, early emigration was initially to Britain and was linked mostly to the pursuit of tertiary education. Tertiary education was not available in Guyana until the founding of the University of Guyana in 1963. The perception was that British credentials would guarantee improved standards of living and a prestigious social status in the colony. By independence in 1966, several events led to increased rates of external migration. The initial wave of emigrants 1961-1962 was linked to the outbreak of violence in 1961 over worsening living conditions. Second, Great Britain tightened immigration laws with the enactment of the Commonwealth Immigration Act in 1962 intended to curb migration flows from the colonies. Britain’s actions coincided with policies in the United States and Canada to open North America.

Economic conditions and employment opportunities in Britain seemed less attractive when compared to opportunities in North America. Third, among the Guyanese who went to Britain to pursue education, some pursued post-education employment opportunities elsewhere instead of returning to Guyana. Other academic sources confirm that British and North American migration policies influenced the partial redirection of migration towards the U.S. and Canada. Family re-unification and skilled labor provisions under the new migration laws in the 1960s were the main avenues that allowed, 1. entire Guyanese families to emigrate, and 2. Guyana’s reputation as one of the top ten countries for skilled migrants.

Research in the 1960s and 1970s challenge contemporary bias that frames immigration to Europe and North America as related only to underdevelopment, high unemployment and population pressures in Caribbean countries, and completely ignore the heavy labor market demands and supporting immigration policies in destination countries targeting immigrants. For example, the United States reportedly initiated recruitment programs in the region, including in Jamaica, Trinidad, and British Guiana in 1960. The Minister of Labor, Health, and Housing was invited by the Building and Wood Workers International (B.W.I.) Central Labor Organization in Washington, D.C. to mobilize a plane load of farm laborers for employment on farms in the U.S. While this program in particular involved low numbers of temporary workers, it provided early labor migration connections to the U.S.

Since the 1960s, the last six decades have seen tens of thousands of Guyanese emigrate to various parts of the world and for a variety of reasons. Even though the country has made significant economic and social progress, immigration remains a challenge that is hurting the country’s growth potential. An example can be seen in the increasing number of migrant workers in Guyana, a phenomenon confirmed by the International Organization for Migration reporting back in 2021. Guyana indeed is increasingly becoming a destination country for migrant workers, primarily from Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Suriname, Venezuela, and nationals from other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. By the same token, in 2020, Guyana recorded the second lowest labor force participation rate in the region, at about 60.4 percent. Guyana’s high emigration rates and consequent brain drain is taking a serious toll on the country’s labor market capacity to fuel the economic boom. According to World Bank reporting, more than half of all Guyanese with a tertiary education emigrated to the United States alone.

Interestingly, once we touch the subject of immigration and population statistics, it becomes apparent, the necessity for a platform like Guyana Tapestry. The diaspora project that connects the dots between a country and a diaspora potentially larger than the country’s population.