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India’s Prime Minister for inaugural meeting with 14 Caribbean Heads today in Georgetown
India’s Prime Minister for inaugural meeting with 14 Caribbean Heads today in Georgetown
Kaieteur News-India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will today meet with 14 Heads of Government for 14 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in a historic summit that will for the first time convene the two sides in a CARICOM member state.
The November 20 engagement in Georgetown is geared towards strengthening bilateral relations in the areas of economic cooperation, agriculture and food security, health and pharmaceuticals, and science and innovations.
In a statement on Tuesday, the CARICOM Secretariat noted that the opening ceremony will feature remarks by the Chair of CARICOM and Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell; President of Guyana, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali; Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi; and CARICOM Secretary-General, Dr. Carla Barnett.
CARICOM Heads of Government and India’s Prime Minister last met in 2019 in the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where they discussed cooperation modalities in renewable energy and climate change through a US$150 million credit line from India.
Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations at the CARICOM Secretariat, Elizabeth Solomon said that India is an important global actor. “Our Member States are keen to meet Prime Minister Modi and develop deeper technical relationships, deepen the relationship in terms of advocacy for small states in the international arena, and strengthen people to people ties,” she said ahead of today’s Summit.
CARICOM Member States have had longstanding friendships with India; however, the process of formalising relations between the two sides began in 1985 when an Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation was signed.
In 2003, a CARICOM delegation led by the Hon. K.D. Knight, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica and then Chairman of the Community Council visited India, and signed an Agreement to establish a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination between CARICOM and India.
At the first meeting of CARICOM-India, Foreign Ministers in 2005 in the margins of the 16th Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government Conference, the Foreign Ministers rationalised possible areas of cooperation.
The First Meeting of the CARICOM-India Joint Commission which was convened in June 2015 identified areas of cooperation as agribusiness development, food security, health, small business development, marine development, fisheries and disaster management.
CARICOM and India have maintained ties through the Joint Commission, political interactions at the Heads and Ministerial levels, as well as multilaterally in the context of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Group of 77, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
(India’s Prime Minister for inaugural meeting with 14 Caribbean Heads today in Georgetown)
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