Caricom Chair appreciates India’s Prime Minister for humanitarian assistance to region 

by Curlan Campbell 

• PM Mitchell underscored India’s dedication to assisting developing nations and promoting sustainable growth alongside Caricom countries
• PM Modi provided vaccines to region during Covid-19 pandemic
• PM Modi proposed key areas for collaboration: 7 main pillars that spell out Caricom acronym

Caricom Chair and Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell at the opening of the India–Caricom Summit in Guyana Headquarters of the Caribbean Community,  expressed gratitude to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his humanitarian aid in providing vaccines to Grenada and the region during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Mitchell, who co-chaired the meeting, addressed Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday as he joined Caribbean leaders for the second India–Caricom Summit on the invitation of His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. “Caricom also remains highly grateful to India for the vaccines donated to Caricom Member States at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mitchell said.” It demonstrated that at the time of its own great need, it cared enough about its brothers and sisters within Caricom.”

Mitchell underscored India’s dedication to assisting developing nations and promoting sustainable growth in Caricom countries. “We commend India’s unwavering commitment to the sustainable development of our region, especially in this intricate and interconnected era of globalisation. It is evident to us that the challenges we face can only be effectively addressed through the prosperity of deeper integration and cooperation and cooperative action amongst nations.”

The summit signified a substantial leap forward in fostering collaboration and shared prosperity between India and the Caribbean. At the summit, Prime Minister Modi presented a framework for closer ties, emphasising key areas for collaboration, including boosting ICT, healthcare, and capacity building, while also focusing on climate change resilience. During his address, Modi emphasised the long-standing and robust connections shared between India and the Caribbean countries. His proposals consisted of 7 main pillars that spell out the acronym Caricom. Areas of focus include Capacity Building, Agriculture and Food Security, Renewable Energy and Climate Change, Innovation, Technology and Trade, Cricket and Culture, Ocean Economy, and Medicine and Healthcare.

In capacity building, Modi stated that India has consistently contributed to the development of Caricom countries through scholarships, training, and technical assistance. He proposed an increase of 1,000 slots in ITEC scholarships offered by India over the next 5 years. Additionally, he suggested establishing a Forensic Centre for the Caricom region and the capacity building of civil servants through the “i-GOT Karmayogi Portal.” This portal provides online courses in various fields, including technology, administration, law, and education. He suggested that a similar portal could be created for Caricom countries. Highlighting India’s role as the mother of democracy, Modi expressed readiness to collaborate with Caricom partners on parliamentary training.

Under the pillar of agriculture and food security, Modi highlighted technologies such as drones, digital farming, farm mechanisation, and soil testing, which have transformed agriculture in India. He discussed India’s use of nano fertilisers and its focus on “natural farming” to enhance food security. Modi introduced the idea of promoting millet as a superfood to combat climate change and improve food security in the Caricom region. Regarding the issue of sargassum seaweed, he mentioned that his government is willing to share its expertise and technological solutions with Caricom countries. In addressing the renewable energy and climate change crisis faced by Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Prime Minister announced that his government aims to make at least one government building in each Caricom country solar-powered.

The fourth proposed pillar is innovation, technology, and trade. Modi urged Caricom countries to adopt India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has benefitted countries like the UAE, Singapore, France, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Mauritius. He proposed collaborating to implement UPI in Caricom countries as well. He also introduced a cloud-based DigiLocker platform for citizens to store their documents securely and suggested launching a pilot project for this platform in Caricom countries. To enhance public procurement in India, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal was developed, offering a wide range of products, from medical equipment to furniture. Modi expressed willingness to share this portal with Caricom countries. To promote the 5Ts — Trade, Technology, Tourism, Talent, and Tradition — he suggested creating an online portal to connect private sectors and stakeholders from all countries.

The fifth pillar focusses on cricket and culture. Modi proposed strengthening cricket relations by promoting women’s empowerment through training for 11 young women cricketers from each Caricom country in India.

The sixth pillar addresses the ocean economy and maritime security. Prime Minister Modi proposed supplying passenger and cargo ferries and expressed willingness to collaborate with member states on maritime domain mapping and hydrography.

For the last pillar, medicine and healthcare, Modi wants to enter into agreements for mutual recognition of pharmacopoeias between India and all Caricom countries. he has expressed willingness to consider establishing drug testing labs in Caricom countries. “Cancer and other non-communicable diseases are a significant challenge in Caricom countries. To combat this, we will provide the Siddharth Two cancer therapy machine developed in India. For convenient and on-the-spot treatment in remote locations, we have developed “Bhisma” mobile hospitals in India. These can be set up within minutes and provide immediate treatment for all types of trauma. We would be happy to make these mobile hospitals available to Caricom friends,” Prime Minister Modi explained.

In addition, India’s government wants to assist disabled individuals, with artificial limbs and to provide dialysis units and sea ambulances.