(CMC) At least 14 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are expected to attend the second India-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit in Guyana today, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat has announced.
India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who arrived in Guyana from Brazil where he was attending the G20 Summit, will co-chair the one-day conference that will also be addressed by CARICOM Chairman and Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, the host head of state, President Dr Irfaan Ali and the CARICOM Secretary General, Dr Carla Barnett.
While CARICOM has not publicly indicated who is the regional leader not expected to be present physically, the CARICOM Secretariat described the summit as “historic” saying it will be the “first stand-alone Meeting between the Heads of Government of the two sides to be convened in a CARICOM member state.”
It said that the “engagement is expected to strengthen an already strong relationship in areas such as economic cooperation, agriculture and food security, health and pharmaceuticals, and science and innovations.
CARICOM leaders and India’s Prime Minister last met in 2019 in the margins of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where they discussed cooperation modalities in renewable energy and climate change through a US$150 million credit line from India.
“India is an important global actor. Our Member States are keen to meet Prime Minister Modi and develop deeper technical relationships, deepen the relationship in terms of advocacy for small states in the international arena, and strengthen people to people ties,” said the CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General for Foreign and Community Relations, Elizabeth Solomon.
The first meeting of the CARICOM-India Joint Commission which was convened in June 2015 identified areas of cooperation in agribusiness development, food security, health, small business development, marine development, fisheries and disaster management.
The Secretariat said CARICOM and India have maintained ties through the Joint Commission, political interactions at the heads and ministerial levels, as well as multilaterally in the context of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Group of 77, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
