India’s historic and warm relations with the countries of the Caribbean witnessed a new momentum with the meeting of Prime Minister of India with 14 leaders of the CARICOM group of countries on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
- India-CARICOM meeting deliberated on the steadily intensifying and deepening relations between India and partner countries of the Caribbean, not only in the bilateral but also in the regional context.
- India has provided immediate financial assistance of USD 1 million to recover from the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian in the region and the worst-hit island of Bahamas.
- India also announced a USD 14 million grant for community development projects in the CARICOM and another 150 million Line of Credit for solar, renewable energy and climate- change-related projects.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- The Caribbean Community was formed in 1973.
- CARICOM has 15 members – Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.
- The Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries.
- The CARICOM Single Market and Economy are intended to benefit the people of the region by providing more and better opportunities to produce and sell goods and services and to attract investment.
- The Government of India funded the US$ 1.166 million information technology and communication infrastructure, computer software and community studio at the CARICOM Secretariat in 2005-2006.
Areas of Cooperation
Development
- In a Ministerial meeting in 2017, India announced the offer of emergency aid of US$ 200,000/- to the worst affected CARICOM countries (US$ 100,000 each to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica) and an additional US$ 2 million from the India-UN Partnership Fund for South-South Cooperation for rehabilitation projects in CARICOM
- Recently in 2019, the Indian Prime Minister offered a US$ 14 million Grant (US$ 1 million per CARICOM member state) for quick-impact community development projects in CARICOM countries
Political relations
Measures taken to strengthen India-CARICOM bilateral relations include:
- Focussed cooperation in capacity building with emphasis on the completion of training of Young Diplomats of CARICOM countries in India, and also training in Project Management and Strategic Planning
- During the meeting, It was decided to establish an India-CARICOM Task Force to reinvigorate India-CARICOM cooperation
Economy
- Both entities have vowed to cooperation relating to:
- Promotion of business and trade
- Enhancement of people-to-people contact
- Organizing training programmes in various sectors particularly in animal and dairy sector
- Organising workshop for CARICOM drug regulators
- Sharing of Indian expertise in traditional medicines
- Holding business events and cultural festivals and facilitation of visas
- India has also called for building a road-map for cooperation in the field of respective organisations of small and medium enterprises and invited member states of CARICOM to participate in the India International Trade Fair
- The Government of India and the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) signed a Contribution Agreement in 2019, which provides for a grant allocation of US$ 1 million to the CDF’s capital fund
- These resources will support implementation of the CDF’s mandate to provide financial and technical assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors within CARICOM, in accordance with Article 158 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community, including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME)
Other areas
- Both entities also exchange views on regional and multilateral issues such as terrorism, climate change, sustainable development, etc., in addition to inviting CARICOM member countries to join the International Solar Alliance.
- In this perspective, India offered US$ 150 million Line of Credit (US$ 10 million per CARICOM member state) for CARICOM countries for solar energy and climate change related projects
- Recently, the Government of Antigua and Barbuda joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- India’s ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative resulted in humanitarian donation of 5.7 lakh doses of vaccines for the Caribbean Region
- In software and information technology, the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) is one of the prongs of the Development Partnership Administration established in 2012 in the Ministry of External Affairs, India with CARICOM
India-CARICOM Challenges
Geographical Barrier
- The primary reason for low trade and investment is cited as long distances and complicated sea routes, resulting in high transportation and allied costs, such as insurance
- There are no direct sea trade routes and shipments have to pass through different ports
- Lack of information on how to do business with these countries adds to business risks and deters businesses from exploring opportunities
Cultural Barrier
Challenges to greater economic ties also include a poor understanding of each other, including a major deficit in Spanish and Portuguese language skills in India and lack of proficiency in English in parts of these countries
Way forward
Having the advantage of a sizeable Indian diasporic community in the region along with the natural complementarities of products for trade with the region, CARICOM region is apt for closer cooperation and for exploring further avenues for interaction for India—both bilateral and multilateral—based on multiple areas of mutual interests and concerns with the CARICOM countries