Modi to be Honoured with Dominica’s Highest National Award

New Delhi: The Commonwealth of Dominica will bestow its highest national award, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month. The Caribbean nation announced that in recognition of Modi’s contributions to Dominica during the Covid-19 pandemic and his dedication to strengthening the partnership between the two nations, the award will be presented during the India-Caricom Summit, scheduled to take place in Georgetown, Guyana, from November 19 to 21.

President of the Commonwealth of Dominica Sylvanie Burton will confer the award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “In February 2021, Modi supplied Dominica with 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine — a generous gift which enabled Dominica to extend support to its Caribbean neighbours,” a statement issued by the office of the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister noted.

“Prime Minister Modi has been a true partner to Dominica particularly during our time of need amid a global health crisis. It is an honour to present him with Dominica’s highest national accolade as a symbol of our gratitude for his support and as a reflection of the strong ties between our countries,” the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said.

The MEA on Wednesday had announced that Modi would co-chair the second India-Caricom Summit in Guyana along with the Prime Minister of Grenada, who is the current Chair of Caricom, and leaders of all Caricom countries will be present in Guyana for that occasion as well as the secretary general of Caricom.

“This is only the second Summit between India and Caricom and the first in a Caricom country. The only other Summit that was held was in 2019 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and this is a significant Summit and we expect to have a very rich agenda of cooperation with Caricom during this Summit,” the MEA had said.

The Caribbean Community (Caricom) is made up of 15 member states and five associate member states. Member states include Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. While, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate member states.