Guyana: The worlds fastest-growing economy
The former British colony in South America boasts the world\u2019s fastest-growing economy at the moment \u2013 it expanded by 62 per cent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
The reason is oil. Since 2015, US oil major Exxon and its partners have made a series of massive discoveries in Guyanese waters, catapulting the country into the world\u2019s top 20 in terms of reserves.
That\u2019s bringing billions of dollars into the economy but also challenges: how can Guyana avoid the \u2018resource curse\u2019 - the mismanagement and corruption that have afflicted other commodity-rich nations? How can it exploit the oil bonanza with a population of less than a million people? And has the oil come too late anyway \u2013 just as the world move away from fossil fuels?
We talk to the country\u2019s president Irfaan Ali.
Presenter and producer: Gideon Long
(Image: President Irfaan Ali. Credit: Keon Blades/ Office of the President Guyana)