(GuyanaChronicle)TECHNOLOGY giant, Huawei, has said it is interested in establishing a Research and Development Centre (or ICT college) in Guyana and will soon send a team of technical engineers to provide support and assess the needs of the country’s private sector.
This was announced, on Wednesday, during President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s visit to the company’s Shanghai Research Centre.
The Head of State is leading a team of businessmen during a one-week visit to China and at the end of the meeting with Huawei, a working committee was formed with the ICT company, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be signed soon.
In his remarks, President Ali implored the need for Guyana to keep up with the rest of the world in terms of ICT development and urged Huawei to capitalize on this by using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He believes a Huawei Research and Development Centre in Guyana can cater to the entire Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
“A Huawei AI centre in Guyana that will cater to the entire LAC region and transform one of our faculties…into a Huawei Research and Development Centre and this will reposition your company in the region,” Dr. Ali said.
The Guyanese Head of State believes too that AI can help the hurricane-prone LAC region.
“A region that is hurricane prone – how can AI model hurricanes for more predictability?
“We can do it all from Guyana; we can have a centre in Guyana that helps the entire CARICOM region in terms of the predictability, modeling, impact analysis and flooding.”
According to the President, if necessary, Guyana can rebrand its Institute of Applied Science and Technology.
“I want my campus to say Huawei Research and Development Centre, where we can attract students from all over South America, the Caribbean and Latin America,” President Ali said.
He also urged the company to establish its AI work in Guyana’s dense forest. Meanwhile, Jeff Wang, Senior Vice President of Huawei, said the company is ready to work with the private sector and committed to establishing the ICT college.
Wang gave an overview of Huawei and its recent development and discussed latest trends in ICT.
He recommitted to Huawei’s stance that the company will be “in Guyana, for Guyana” by continuing its long-term investments into Guyana’s ICT market and fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities to local communities.
Wang also praised Guyana’s Information and Communication (ICT) Master Plan 2030 which was kicked off by President Ali last year, and expressed Huawei’s willingness to leverage its ICT expertise and experience to contribute to Guyana’s national strategy for digital transformation.