New Delhi/Georgetown (Guyana), Apr 21(UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is visiting Guyana, on Friday met Carla Natalie Barnett, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and exchanged views for intensifying ties between India and the grouping.
He also congratulated her on the Caricom celebrating its 50th anniversary on July 4 this year.
“Thank Secretary General Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett for the warm welcome at the@ CARICOM org . Congratulated her at #CARICOM50.
“Exchanged views for intensifying India-CARICOM ties in traditional as well as new areas of cooperation,” he said in a tweet.
Barnett is from Belize and became the eighth Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community in August 2021.
In her address at the Fourth India-Caricom Ministerial meeting, Carla Natalie Barnett said the Caricom attaches great value to the bonds of friendship forged with India over the years.
“India has remained a vital partner of the Community since the Region established formal diplomatic relations in 1997. Subsequently, steady progress has been made through regular political engagements and structured development cooperation arrangements,” she said.
She said that the Meeting of Foreign Ministers held today was “another meaningful step towards institutionalizing” their high-level engagements.
“It follows the establishment of the CARICOM-India Joint Commission in 2015, the resumption of Ministerial meetings, and the first CARICOM-India Summit-Level Meeting in 2019. These engagements have given impetus to our relationship and provided policy guidance for future CARICOM-India interactions.“
She remarked that the Ministerial meeting is taking place amid “a global geopolitical environment roiled by deeply divisive and challenging issues”.
“We continue to be burdened by the lingering effects of some of the gravest challenges in recent memory, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the challenge of Small Island and Low-lying Coastal Developing States (SIDS) to build resilience, the evident weakening of multilateralism, and other troubling geopolitical issues, all encumber our progress,” the Caricom chief said.
She said amid the persistent and emerging challenges “the exchanges of information and experience with trusted partners are essential”, as the Caribbean Community seeks to develop solutions and strengthen their collective action.
“Solidarity and support from India continue to contribute to the advancement of regional
integration objectives in areas such as agriculture, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), climate change mitigation and adaptation, and disaster risk management.”
She said the capacity building programming under India’s ITEC Programme has benefited Caricom Member States greatly.
“The Government of India has provisioned US$150 Million in concessional credit to the Region. In addition, CARICOM-India knowledge sharing has been facilitated in line with the 2030Sustainable Development Agenda, through ICT Centres established in Grenada and Guyana and, most recently, through the secondment of an Indian Fisheries Expert to the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM).”
Barnett said the CARICOM Secretariat has also benefitted from the generosity of the Government of India through its provision of equipment, training and technical assistance in ICT, and expressed her appreciation over it.
