While imparting significant boost to India’s ties with Guyana, PM Modi’s just concluded visit to Georgetown helped New Delhi in deepening its relations with Caribbean community members
The 3-day historic visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Guyana was the first by an Indian PM after an interregnum of 56 years. Indira Gandhi was the last Indian PM to visit Guyana in 1968.
In addition to the bilateral State visit to Guyana, PM Modi co-Chaired the second Summit of the India-CARICOM (Caribbean Community) grouping.
The first meeting was held on side-lines of the UN General Assembly 5 years ago in September, 2019.
Growing India-CARICOM ties
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an intergovernmental political and economic union of 15 member states and five associated members spanning the Americas, the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.
Its primary objective is to promote economic integration and cooperation, equitably share the benefits of integration, and coordinate foreign policy. The organisation was established in 1973 by the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean with its secretariat headquarters located in Georgetown, Guyana.
CARICOM currently includes all independent Anglophone island countries plus Belize, Guyana, Montserrat and Suriname, as well as all other British Caribbean territories and Bermuda as associate members.
PM Modi co-Chaired the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit, along with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell of Grenada, the current Chair of CARICOM.
The Summit was attended by Heads of States and Governments of 11 member States viz. Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Foreign ministers of Belize, Jamaica and St. Kitts and Nevis also participated.
Advancing CARICOM’s interests
PM Modi advanced proposals under seven verticals using the alphabets of C-A-R-I-C-O-M. The first C stands for Capacity building, A for Agriculture and food security, R for Renewable energy and climate change, I for Innovation, technology and trade, C for Cricket and culture, O for Ocean economy and maritime security, and M for Medicine and health care.
“The seven pillars of "CARICOM" have one thing in common – they are all based on your priorities and needs. This is the fundamental principle of our cooperation,” PM Modi said.
In the field of capacity building, 1,000 new ITEC slots for CARICOM countries over the next five years would be provided. CARICOM countries are already beneficiaries of and highly appreciative of these training programs.
These are generic, as well as specifically tailor-made for individual countries based on their needs. In the area of food security, India offered use of drones, digital farming, farm mechanization, soil testing, and ways to convert sargassum seaweed into fertilizer.
In the area of renewable energy, India offered expertise from the International Solar Alliance, membership of the Global Biofuel Alliance, as well as Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) for a sustainable future.
India offered its India stack for digital public infrastructure, cloud-based DigiLockers, and the Unified Payment Interface. India also offered to train eleven young women cricketers from each Caribbean country in India.
A ‘Days of Indian Culture’ will be organised next year to further promote people-to-people relations.
In the maritime sphere, India offered maritime domain mapping, hydrography, and maritime security through patrolling.
All proposals advanced by PM Modi covered areas of felt-need by the CARICOM States such as high incidence of non-communicable diseases viz. cancer and diabetes, shortage of skilled manpower, climate resilience and sustainable development, energy security including exploitation of renewable energy, national security including coastal surveillance, connectivity, particularly inter-island maritime connectivity for both goods and passengers, and women empowerment etc.
PM Modi proposed the establishment of Jan Aushadhi Kendras to provide quality and affordable healthcare to common people in all CARICOM countries. He suggested the use of space technology for resource mapping, climate studies and agriculture in CARICOM countries. All these initiatives and several more were applauded and warmly welcomed by the participating leaders.
India’s assistance during Covid-19 pandemic
The CARICOM leaders were particularly appreciative that at the height of COVID pandemic, India had come to their assistance by donating vaccines and providing medical assistance.
All leaders warmly thanked PM Modi and stated that India is like a family member of the CARICOM community. They expressed their sincere appreciation for PM Modi’s visit and commended the proposed roadmap to further strengthen their partnership.
The leaders witnessed a fly past of the recently acquired HAL 228 aircraft, two of which have been gifted by India to Guyana.
The Commonwealth of Dominica conferred upon PM Modi its highest national award. The PM thanked the President of Dominica for the special effort to travel to Guyana to confer the award.
The Prime Minister of Barbados also announced a decision to confer the nation's highest award on PM Modi.
On side-lines of the India-CARICOM Summit, PM Modi held nine bilateral meetings with leaders of Guyana, Dominica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Lucia.
India-Guyana bilateral partnership
Ten MOUs were signed during PM Modi’s Talks with President Irfaan Ali of Guyana. These covered areas including hydrocarbons and energy, health and pharmaceuticals, agriculture, digital cooperation, culture, defence, and security studies, etc.
PM Modi announced that the scope of bilateral collaboration had been expanded “from energy to enterprise, Ayurveda to agriculture, infrastructure to innovation, healthcare to human resources, and data to development.”
Discussions between the two sides will be held on finalising a long-term agreement on supply of oil and gas to India.
In a moving and impressive ceremony, PM Modi was conferred the highest Award of Guyana by President Irfaan Ali.
In his address to a Special Session of the Guyanese Parliament, PM Modi emphasized the dictum of ‘’Democracy First, Humanity First’’ to resolve challenges confronting the world today.
He said India does not follow the policy of expansionism nor does it covet and exploit the resources of other countries. He projected India as a ‘’Vishwabandhu’’ and a true friend and Voice of the Global South.
PM Modi’s visit to Guyana imparted a momentous impulse to India’s ties with Guyana as well as with other CARICOM nations.
This has immensely advanced India’s political, economic, and strategic interests and influence, and significantly bolstered its image in the world.
Rise in Guyana’s GDP
Guyana witnessed the discovery of significant quantities of oil and gas in 2015. This has made it a highly significant source of fossil fuels in the world.
With its reserves of 11 billion barrels of oil, it has the fourth largest offshore oil reservoir next only to Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Mexico.
The discovery has the promise to change Guyana forever, catapulting it and its people to new heights of power and wealth.
Oil already generates US$1 billion in revenues annually and will produce an estimated US$7.5 billion by 2040. As a result of its oil wealth, Guyana’s GDP witnessed an astronomical increase of 43% in 2023.
Resilience of Indo-Guyanese community
Guyana is a small country with a population of 800,000, out of which 40% or a little more than 300,000 citizens are of Indian origin.
Indians were first brought to Guyana as indentured labour by the British to work on the sugar plantations in 1838.
It is a shining commentary on the determination and resilience of the Indo-Guyanese community that they rose not only to wrest independence from the British colonisers in 1966 but also to occupy the most significant positions of leadership in all spheres in the country.
Today, President Dr. Md. Irfaan Ali, Vice-President Bharrat Jagdeo and several ministers are of Indian origin.
Although they are Guyanese citizens and have lived here since their birth, they maintain close civilizational, cultural, emotional, religious, and culinary ties with India.
***The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at Ananta Aspen Centre; he was India’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Sweden, and Latvia; views expressed here are his own
(Note: This article first appeared in INN)