On March 7-9, the Centre organised its first in-person Join the Conversation (JTC) Speaker Series since the COVID-19 pandemic hosting Dr. Zainab Usman from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Dr. Usman provided her perspectives to the Guyanese business community on the importance of economic diversification based on her latest discussion paper, Beyond Revenue Management: Principles for an Oil-Led Development Strategy in the 21st Century.

JTC provides a platform for distinguished international energy experts to offer their unique perspectives on the global oil and gas industry and its development in Guyana.

During her visit, Dr. Usman engaged with leading representatives from the business community, students from the University of Guyana, and members of government and the diplomatic corp. She has built a career on understanding and mapping the importance of economic diversification in resource rich economies, and shared her research and thoughts on how Guyana can diversify and grow during these robust economic times.

Dr. Zainab Usman is the Director of the Africa Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. She is an expert on institutions, economic policy, energy policy, and emerging economies in Africa and similar economies. She was recently published in the New York Times on “How African Countries Can Overcome the Resource Curse” which has received widespread global interest among