Following his recent Middle East trip, President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday reported likely investments in the housing, health and mining sectors, while saying the country would continue to pursue an independent foreign policy.

At a news conference at the Office of the President (OP), Jagdeo disclosed that following a meeting with the Kuwait Fund, Guyana has agreed to do a feasibility study and submit a project proposal for an infrastructure project up to US$10M. He said infrastructure in the housing sector is likely one of the areas where the funds would be directed. Additionally, Jagdeo also announced that a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with Iran for a US$1.5M grant for the health sector. He said while Iran was interested in the construction of an institution, the purpose of the grant may have to be restructured towards setting up a teaching facility for specialised medical training.

Jagdeo’s trip to Iran followed post-electoral violence and a crackdown on opposition supporters in Tehran in recent months. Asked whether he was concerned about the situation, he said Guyana also has had post-electoral violence and “we saw it as a domestic affair.” He emphasised that he did not judge countries based on reports from Reuters and CNN or the BBC, explaining that every media house has its own orientation and how it reflects the reality of a country or an international situation is often based on what the owners think. “…We have good relations with the US but we also have an independent foreign policy and while we agree with the US on many issues at many times, we also have differences,” he said, adding that just as Washington will pursue the well-being of its people based on what its consider to be American interests, “so too, we in Guyana, should pursue our international affairs.” Jagdeo said what is good for the Guyanese people would continue to guide its foreign policy and he would continue to seek support where it is available.

According to Jagdeo, during the Kuwait visit he had extensive discussions with the Emir about Guyana’s debt to the country, amounting to over US$50M. Under its Paris Club agreement, Guyana must seek comparable write-offs from other creditors or jeopardise the existing arrangement. Jagdeo, who noted that this means seeking a minimum 85% reduction in the net present value of the debt, said discussions between the two countries have been bogged down over the years because of Kuwait’s complications. “Still, we have agreed to continue those discussions and later this year-possibly at the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank,” he said.  He noted that as the country moves towards clearing the debt of the past, its debt profile is already very sustainable. He added: “But we need to remove the last vestiges of the old debt so we can continue to build a viable debt strategy in the future.”

Jagdeo said he also met with several groups and had extensive discussions about strengthening the relationship between the private sectors of both countries. He explained that he gave a commitment to facilitate contact between the local chambers of commerce here and the private sector umbrella body with their counterparts in Kuwait. There was also an undertaking to strengthen ties between parliaments. An MOU was also signed for the removal of visa restrictions for diplomatic travel.

Explaining the importance of a teaching institution for specialised medicine here, he noted that while there are a large number of persons completing studies in medicine, the lack of specialists has been problem. He said the number of Cuban scholarships for specialists is limited and as a result persons have had to be recruited to fill the void.

The practice would continue in the short term, he said, but efforts would also be made to find the “best and brightest” to go on to specialise. “We are prepared to build a teaching institution if they were to send teachers from Iran to work with our young doctors to have them specialise in the different areas so that our hospitals could have the adequate number of specialists, which would allow us to improve the quality of health care and offer significantly higher number of services, including tertiary care,” he said. He assured that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad agreed to help in this area.

Jagdeo said in addition to Ahmadinejad, he also had discussions with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as ministers. Jagdeo explained that discussions covered several areas, including technical assistance to map mineral potential and resources in Guyana. He said Iran has offered to map mineral wealth and a mission will be here soon to work with the Guyana Geology and Mines Commis-sion. At the end of the project, he noted, the country would be better positioned for planned development of the mining sector.

He also said that discussions also focused on the possibility of working with Iran on the supply of agricultural implements.