Not many in Kuwait know about Guyana - a South American country blessed with wild beauty and extensive history. But there is a familiar face in Kuwait which connect us now to this exotic country, Professor Dr. Shamir Ally - the Ambassador of Guyana to Kuwait.
In many of the Indian functions in Kuwait whether it is organized by the Indian Embassy or by other Indian Associations, or Indian Schools, Professor Dr. Shamir Ally and his wife Dr Maryyann Beebe Ally is a familiar face with his ever smiling "Namaste".
With a root in India's "Chota Nagpur", Professor Dr. Shamir Ally, who carries a high respect for the Indians spoke about his country and its relationship with Kuwait in an exclusive chat with IndiansinKuwait.com.
A politician and a Professor Dr. Shamir Ally took charge as the Ambassador of Guyana in Kuwait in 2017 when his party won his country's presidential elections. "Kuwait is a beautiful country. The people are very friendly and caring", Professor Dr. Shamir Ally said. Whoever visiting his Embassy located at Mishref will definitely get a history of his country. He has arranged the photographs of all his previous presidents and prime ministers. A brief history of his country, display of samples of the rich natural resources his country has, the scenic pictures of his countries famous waterfall etc.
"I am not a diplomat by profession, but my posting as the Ambassador of Guyana in Kuwait is a great opportunity for me to serve 800,000 people of my country.", Dr Ally said.
My roots are from "Chota Nagpur" in India. My grandparents speaks Hindi. We have around 30% Hindu population in our country, majority came from India with Britishers to work in sugar plantation. In Kuwait I am very happy to interact with the Indian community members. I had attended few Indian events at Bhavans School, Indian Doctors Forum, etc and had lot of good friends from the Indian community which I am enjoying, Dr Ally said. "I blend myself with everybody's culture, Respect everyone, this is my motto" He says.
"Our country is very rich in natural resources. Guyana is rich in Sugar, Gold, Rice, Bauxite etc." The potential is unlimited. I am trying to import some wood products to Kuwait, which will very well suit the climate of this country, Dr Ally, who is also the Deputy Chairman and Board of Directors of GO-Invest, the Guyana Office for Investment said. The major investment in Guyana is by EXXON, which is about 7 billion dollars in Oil extraction which made Guyana an oil rich country. His wife Dr Maryyann Beebe Ally, who voluntarily market the country of Guyana in Kuwait is now trying to import some coffee beans to this country. Guyana is a country with largest source of clean water. These days when the countries are fighting for drinking water, he sees a big potential in the clean Water resource of Guyana.
Dr Ally is also the Alternate Governor for Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was instrumental in changing their logo to give a new image to IDB. With the support of his friends from Kuwait and other GCC countries on board at IsDB, he was able to get 1 billion US$ aid for his country, which they were able to manage to develop Guyana to the right direction. "I want Guyana to be the Singapore of South America," he said when asked about his vision.
His own Kuwaiti space at the Guyana Embassy he setup shows his closeness with Kuwait. The largest Al-Sabha family tree displayed at his Embassy will make any Kuwaiti proud of his closeness with this country. The Kuwaiti visitors were taken for a surprise by seeing this Al-Sabha family tree he was able to arrange at his Embassy. He had also arranged a big picture of Kuwaiti martyrs at his Embassy, which tells how much he love this country.
"Every day is a joy for me. I wake up early morning at 4:00 am and attend many functions and events till late night by 11:00 pm. Kuwait is a fun place and every day is a joy." he said.
Professor Dr. Shamir Ally and his wife are also very much concerned about the environment is well known for his environmental activities in Kuwait. A video was viral few weeks ago, in which the Dr Maryyann Beebe Ally is seen removing some waste bottles from the newly opened Sheikh Jaber bridge. When asked about that he said it is everyone’s responsibility to make sure that our surroundings are clean. We cannot simply say that there are cleaners employed to clean the streets so you can throw your dirt on the street. When we visited the newly opened Sheikh Jaber bridge, we saw lot of bottles thrown on the road. My wife, who cares much about the environment, immediately got down from the car and took all the bottles and properly disposed at the waste disposal bin. We never knew that somebody was recording this in mobile camera as that person might have seeing an Ambassador's wife doing such an action for the first time. That video went viral on social media and he was appreciated by many fellow ambassadors and friends.
Dr Ally also set up a recycling collection box at his embassy premises where anyone can dumb their cloths and plastics materials and a specialized company will collect it for recycling. We have to remove our attitude. As a professor, I request you all to respect our environment and start the change from our own home. The life will be always good, he concluded.