Modi’s 7 pillars to boost India-Caribbean alliance

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a slew of measures to increase development assistance to Caribbean nations during the second India-Caricom (Caribbean Community) summit in Guyanese capital Georgetown on Thursday (IST). On the margins of the summit, Modi met the leaders of nine Caribbean nations and discussed strengthening bilateral ties.

Giving a new meaning to the word Caricom, Modi said that each of the seven alphabets represented the “seven pillars” of capacity-building, agriculture, renewable energy, innovation, cricket and culture, the ocean economy and medicine and healthcare. “India is totally committed to taking relations to new heights with countries of the Caribbean region,” Modi told leaders of the Caribbean nations at the summit.

On the occasion, Modi was felicitated with awards by two nations -- one conferred on him by Guyana and the other by the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Leaders of Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Barbados, Belize, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and St Lucia participated in the summit and conveyed their views and feedback to the Prime Minister on how India could boost their collective path to development and progress. The aforementioned leaders later also held separate bilateral meetings with Modi.

Welcoming the valuable suggestions, Modi told them that the details of India’s proposals will be shared with them and that “we will move forward on all subjects in a time-bound manner”. He also said that “the decisions taken at our meeting will add new dimensions to our cooperation in every sector” and that the India-Caricom joint commission and joint working groups will have an important role to play in implementing them”. He also proposed that the third Caricom summit be organised in India.

Outlining his plans, Modi said that India will expand the size and scale of the technical development centre in Belize so that it could be used by all the Caricom nations. Pointing out that there was an abundance of seaweed in the region, which often caused a problem for these nations, he offered to share the Indian technology through which fertilisers can be made from these seaweeds.

The Prime Minister also spoke about the facilitation for use of drones and farm mechanisation to aid increased crop output. He also said India will provide its cancer therapy machine called Siddharth-2 for use by these nations.

Pointing out how sports like Cricket can boost the sporting bonds between India and the Caribbean and also lead to women’s empowerment, Modi also offered that India could train 11 women cricketers from each Caricom nation.

The Prime Minister also assured the Caribbean leaders that development assistance provided by India will be based on the priorities decided by these nations. He said India is “focused on the concerns of the Global South and its priorities” and expressed satisfaction that the Caribbean leaders agreed with India on the need for reform of global multilateral institutions.

On the award conferred by Guyana to Modi, New Delhi said that the Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali conferred upon the Prime Minister the highest national award of Guyana -- The Order of Excellence -- for his ‘visionary statesmanship and for his commitment to strengthening India-Guyana relations’.

While accepting the award, the Prime Minister dedicated the honour to the people of India and to the deep-rooted historical ties between the people of the two countries. He emphasised that his state visit is a testament to India’s continued commitment towards deepening India-Guyana friendship. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is only the fourth foreign leader to be conferred with the award.

Regarding the award conferred on Modi by Dominica, New Delhi said that President Sylvanie Burton conferred the highest national award -- Dominica Award of Honour -- on the Prime Minister for his statesmanship, support to Dominica during the Covid-19 pandemic and his commitment to strengthening India and Dominica ties.

The award ceremony was held on the sidelines of the Second India-Caricom Summit in Georgetown, Guyana. Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit also graced the occasion. The President of Guyana, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, PM Grenada Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Philip J. Pierre and Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne also witnessed the award ceremony.

The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the bilateral bond between the two nations will continue to grow and deepen in the years ahead.

In his remarks at the end of the summit, Modi said, “Relations between India and Caricom countries are based on our shared past experiences, our shared present-day needs and our shared aspirations for the future… Under India’s presidency last year, the G-20 emerged as the voice of the Global South. Yesterday, in Brazil as well, I called on the global community to give priority to the countries of the Global South. I am pleased that India and all our Caricom friends agree that reforms are necessary in global institutions. They need to mould themselves to today’s world and to today’s society. This is the need of the hour. In order to make this a reality, close cooperation with Caricom and support are important.”