At the opening of the second India-CARICOM Summit in Guyana today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India would provide much-needed assistance to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in tackling a range of regional challenges.
The Meeting, co-chaired by the Chair of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, the Honorable Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, and the Honourable Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, was attended by the Heads of State and Government of Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Barbados, The Commonwealth of Dominica, the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Foreign Ministers of Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, Dr. Carla Barnett.
Modi emphasized India’s ongoing commitment to working closely with CARICOM, noting the partnership’s efforts in addressing crises like COVID-19, natural disasters, capacity building, and development. He highlighted India’s role as a reliable partner in the region’s future development.
India is set to grant an additional 1,000 ITEC scholarships over the next five years to support the technical training and skill development of Caribbean youth. In addition, the technical development center in Belize will be expanded to benefit all CARICOM nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted agriculture and food security as the second pillar of India’s commitment to the Caribbean. He outlined how India is transforming its agriculture sector with innovations such as drones, digital farming, farm mechanization, soil testing, nano-fertilizers, and natural farming. Modi also emphasized the promotion of millets to improve food security across the region.
“On India’s initiative, the UN declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Millets are a superfood that can grow in any kind of climate. For CARICOM countries as well, this can become an effective means of addressing climate change and also improving food security.”
In the health sector, Modi announced that India is ready to assist Caribbean countries in addressing non-communicable diseases, which are a high priority for the region. Modi also offered to share technology with CARICOM states to help them harvest sargassum seaweed, a long-standing environmental challenge. The seaweed, which has caused significant problems in the region, can be repurposed as fertilizer, providing a sustainable solution to the issue.
