Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), visited Guyana this week to discuss opportunities to strengthen IOM’s support in managing migration to help power the growth that is occurring here.
A release yesterday from the IOM said that during her trip, Pope met with five Ministers of Government, reflecting how migration touches so many parts of society. There has been no statement from the Government of Guyana on Pope’s visit.
The IOM release said that Pope also met with migrants and with IOM staff working across Guyana and the Caribbean. IOM said that these engagements were intended to ensure that migration policies and programmes remain grounded in the needs of the people they serve, linking workers with employment opportunities while protecting migrants’ rights and supporting community wellbeing.
Pope also met with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat. As Coordinator of the UN Network on Migration, IOM has been providing technical support to CARICOM, working with countries across the Caribbean to help develop a regional migration governance framework. This framework would assist national migration policies that “respond to both shared and country-specific migration and labour challenges, including how nations adapt to climate change and shrinking productive populations while sustaining economic growth”.
The release said that IOM has worked in Guyana since 2009, helping the government strengthen migration management in line with its development goals to ensure broad opportunity for Guyanese and the government’s commitment to safe, orderly and regular migration.
In this work, IOM draws on its global expertise in areas such as border management, migration data, and protection and aid for vulnerable migrants and host communities, helping translate national priorities into practical action.
In contextualizing Pope’s visit, the IOM release had pointed out that Guyana is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and its expanding industries are creating rising demand for workers. It noted that Guyana’s real GDP grew by 19.3 per cent in 2025, according to the Bank of Guyana — driven by growth in energy, construction, healthcare and other sectors, “creating strong demand for workers that outpaces the domestic labour supply”.
At the same time, the IOM release said that significant numbers of Guyanese have migrated, representing a potential pool of skills, resources and connections the country could draw on. Together with workers from CARICOM and the wider region, IOM said that this presents an opportunity for Guyana to address labour shortages, continuing to upskill the local labour force, while building a migration system that protects the rights and wellbeing of migrants and Guyanese host communities.
“Migration has always been part of Guyana’s development story,” said Pope.
“When it’s managed well, it creates opportunities for everyone — local communities, returning Guyanese, and migrants from the region and beyond. Guyana is uniquely positioned to turn migration into a real force for development, and IOM is committed to helping the government build practical solutions that get real results for a broad cross-section of Guyanese society”, she added.
Thousands of Cubans and Venezuelans have joined the labour force here in recent years and there have been concerns in these communities about exploitation and the lack of protections.
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