Elizabeth Morgan | Further deepening CARICOM/India relationships

The fourth meeting of foreign ministers of CARICOM and India was held in Georgetown, Guyana, on Saturday, April 22. My article of May 18, 2022 titled ‘Strengthening CARICOM/India Relations’ gives the history of these meetings and the establishment of the CARICOM/India Joint Commission. CARICOM and India also had a Heads of Government Summit in 2019.

In May 2022, the then president of India, HE the Hon Ram Nath Kovind, visited the region. The relationship between CARICOM and India takes place in several arenas, including the Commonwealth, given the shared history. It also involves strengthening the links with the Indian diaspora in the CARICOM region. The first Indian/Jamaica Diaspora Conference was held in Kingston on March 26.

The Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, is currently on a tour of four countries – Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic – from April 21-29 to explore new areas of cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The minister’s delegation includes representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry. As, of course, he is about furthering the trade and economic interest of India.

This is also an important visit as India is chairing the G20 and has said that it wants to represent those countries which are outside of this group. From my article last week, I pointed to the BRICS forum, of which India is an important member, and its move to reshape the world economic order. India now has the world’s largest population of 1.4 billion and its fourth largest economy.

On the CARICOM meeting, which was really a meeting of the Council of Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), it was co-chaired by Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, who is the incoming COFCOR chair.

COOPERATION PROPOSALS

The CARICOM meeting focused on a range of development and multilateral issues on which CARICOM and India could cooperate. Foreign Minister Jaishankar proposed, for the consideration of CARICOM member states, a new area of cooperation targeting small and medium-sized enterprises which would see projects being developed for consideration valued up to $1 million. This would be grant funds to CARICOM.

He also spoke of operationalising an existing project in agriculture, reshaping programmes on capacity-building which would involve customising courses especially for the region, and producing generic drugs. Another area of cooperation would be renewable energy.

The details of any new cooperation proposals have to be reviewed, and consultations held with the private sector and relevant government ministries, departments and agencies to design viable projects. As the Indian minister pointed out, a meeting of the CARICOM/India Joint Commission needs to be scheduled as soon as possible.

The work now has to be done at the regional and national levels to ensure that development cooperation proposals can be translated into needed, acceptable, and implementable projects.

GUYANA BILATERAL DISCUSSIONS

Minister Jaishankar spent four days in Guyana. The aim was to continue strengthening India’s relationship with that country. Guyana and India have been working on deepening their bilateral relationship. Guyana’s President, Irfaan Ali, and Vice President, Bharat Jagdeo, visited India in January and February, with oil the main item on the agenda.

As I see it, this visit facilitated a meeting with CARICOM and included bilateral meetings with other CARICOM member states, but it was really about energy security and investing in Guyana’s development. The 5th India/Guyana Joint Commission was held. Discussions were focused on a range of issues, including agriculture, energy, trade and investments, human resources, technology and innovation, health and pharmaceuticals, defence cooperation and infrastructure development.

The important players in the region in the past have been primarily the USA, and the European Union, especially when Britain was a member. Canada was always on the margins. Gradually, China has become a significant player through development cooperation and trade. Now, India clearly wants to play a more significant role through its deepening relationship with Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname.

Elizabeth Morgan is a specialist in international trade policy and international politics. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com