Modi meets CARICOM leaders

By Bert Wilkinson, Caribbean Life —

This is only the second time that an Indian Prime Minister had visited Guyana since Indira Ghandi in 1968, but Narendra Modi on Wednesday unleashed a slew of goodies and offers of assistance to Caribbean leaders during the second summit meeting between the two in five years.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of their half day summit here PM Modi announced plans to award 1,000 technological scholarships to CARICOM over the next five years as he urged the region to take full advantage of any help India can unleaseh on the 15-nation bloc.

Specifically singling out the sargassum or seaweed invasion of tourism beaches in the region in recent years, Modi said India had basically tamed that annoying scourge by using technology to turn it into fertilizer and other commercial uses. Help is available to the Caribbean in this area he said to loud applause.

Major hotels and governments have been complaining bitterly about tons of smelly seaweed invading beaches across the region, chasing away tourists and raking up a hefty bill to clear and clean up affected beaches.

“We are willing to share this will all the countries, ” Modi said, calling the seaweed invasion on beaches in the tourism dependent nations as “a very big problem.”

He arrived in regional bloc headquarters Guyana late Tuesday and by Wednesday morning his delegation had signed on to several cooperation agreements from energy and food security to collaboration in health and agriculture. The visiting PM also said that oil producing Guyana will play and key role in India’s energy security going forward and in much the same way India will help the region improve rice and agriculture production in general.

“We were able to contribute to the food security of not only Guyana but also the entire Caribbean,” he said as he noted the fact that Indian indentured laborers had been brought to Guyana during the colonial era and now make a significant contribution to the country. Neary half of Guyana’s population can trace their ancestry to India.

Meanwhile, saying also that India had made much progress with solar and other alternative energy sources, he said New Delhi would also be willing to fully equip at least one government building in each of the nations with solar power systems.

As well, PM Modi said India would help set up drug testing laboratories around the bloc and improve capacity building in every area including the provision of river and sea ferries for marine transport.

And speaking before Modi, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali and bloc Chairman Dickon Mitchell of Grenada both heaped praises on India for providing the first set of vaccines to the Caribbean during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic back in 2020.

Mitchell said that even “at its own time of need” India had cared enough to assist ” it own brothers and sisters in CARICOM” by providing vaccines to governments as he praised south-south cooperation in several areas.

Source: Caribbean Life

Featured image: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the third session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov.19, 2024. Photo by LUIS ROBAYO/AFP