San Juan, Mar 18 (EFE).- The President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, assured that his country wants to advance in the association in energy security with the United States, during the visit this Saturday of a US delegation that seeks to displace China as a partner preferred trade in South America.

“I have asked the congressional delegation to ensure that Guyana and the US can formally move forward on the strategic partnership on energy, climate and food security,” Ali said in a statement.

Guyana, which has around 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proven reserves, has been identified as an important US partner in all three of these areas.

“Guyana is and will continue to be an important strategic partner of the US and the opportunities here are open (…) We want to see a greater participation of the US private sector in Guyana,” said the president, thus encouraging more investment.

The delegation is led by the Chairman of the US Congress Ways and Means Committee, Jason Smith, and is made up of Democrat Terri Sewell and Republicans Carol Miller, Michelle Fischbach, Beth Van Duyne, Mike Carey and Kelly Armstrong.

The US congressmen’s visit comes ahead of the auction of 14 offshore oil blocks in Guyana, a new round of oil exploration bidding that has attracted at least ten companies and will be awarded this year.

US oil company ExxonMobil has a contract to develop a giant block called Stabroek off the Guyanese coast, but the deal has been criticized domestically as unprofitable for Guyana.

In a statement after meeting with Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Smith said the goal is to thwart China’s attempts to achieve energy dominance.

“China is also participating in Guyana’s oil production. The US must commit to outperforming China around the world while strengthening key American supply chains, increasing American production of affordable energy resources, and enhancing partnerships with allies,” he noted.

According to the statement, the delegation meetings demonstrate “how US bilateral relations in the region benefit American workers and provide a much-needed alternative for countries that might otherwise shift their economies toward China.” .

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