Pres. Ali urges Ireland to join Global Biodiversity Alliance

President Dr Irfaan Ali is urging Ireland to join the Global Biodiversity Alliance (GBA), which is spearheaded by Guyana.

He made the call on Tuesday as he accepted the Letters of Credence from Non-Resident Ambassador of Ireland to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Martin Gallagher, at the Office of the President on Shiv Chanderpaul Drive.

During the engagement, President Ali and Ambassador Gallagher also explored collaborative and investment opportunities between Guyana and Ireland, in health, technology, energy, climate resilience, food security and production, education, and digitalisation.

The GBA is a new platform crafted by Dr Ali that seeks to elevate biodiversity on global agendas. Stemming from the inaugural GBA Summit held in Georgetown in July 2026, the GBA Secretariat would be set up in Guyana and will work with key stakeholders to advance its priorities, which includes the designation of new protected areas, and securing the necessary funding and resources for managing them effectively.

At the end of last year’s summit year, 14 countries had joined the Alliance as founding members and agreed on a concrete action plan. The first meeting of the founding members will be hosted this year ahead of the second summit.

President Ali had previously indicated that he intends to significantly increase the Alliance’s membership by the 2026 summit. In fact, Dr Ali took his biodiversity conservation model to world leaders during the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) summit held in neighbouring Brazil last November.

On the sidelines of COP30, the Guyanese leader appeared on a panel discussion alongside regional leaders, during which he explained that the GBA aims to build an international coalition with every stakeholder given a seat at the table.