As Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a visit to the Caribbean nations he has also reinforced a crucial relationship for tactical, strategic, political and economic reasons. PM Modi has made extensive efforts to reach out to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and, in the larger context, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region.
Established in 1973, the Caribbean Community also known as CARICOM is an intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 14 member states along with five associated members throughout the Americas, The Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. The primary objective of the organization is to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, and ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and coordinate foreign policy. The countries in the group have a population of nearly 16 million citizens, 60% of whom are under the age of 30.
On November 20, the heads of fourteen Caricom countries met Modi in Georgetown, Guyana. It was historic, the first stand-alone meeting between the heads of government of the two sides convened by a Caricom member-State. The engagement is expected to strengthen the relationship in areas such as economic cooperation, agriculture and food security, health and pharmaceuticals, and science and innovations.
The Caricom nations last met PM Modi in 2019 on the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly where they discussed cooperation in renewable energy and climate change through a US$150 million credit line from India. Modi’s recent visit underlines an important development, as to date, India’s relations with the community have largely been bilateral with the individual member states.
The Modi led BJP has a different outlook, they seem to consider the relationship with the Caricom nations an important part of their foreign policy. Foreign minister S Jaishankar has led the initiatives by visiting many of the Caricom nations himself. While India has a healthy trade with Caricom, when coupled with the Latin American bloc, the trading volume is massive. As a bloc it would be India’s fifth largest trading partner. Before the American sanctions on Venezuela, the latter was among the biggest suppliers of oil to India.
Prime Minister Modi during his visit laid the foundation for a strong tie-up with Caricom. The second step would be to expand the alliance to the LAC. For the time being, he laid out seven proposals, collectively forming the acronym C-A-R-I-C-O-M. They are:
C for Capacity Building: India will offer 1,000 slots in the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme for skill development and technical training. Additionally, a forensic centre will be built to support Caricom nations.
A for Agriculture and Food Security: With this proposal, India intents to enhance cooperation in agricultural development and food security for the Caribbean region.
R for Renewable Energy and Climate Change: India has launched initiatives like the Solar Alliance, Mission LiFe, and the Biofuels Alliance, and has invited CARICOM nations to join these efforts. PM Modi also proposed to make a government building solar-powered.
I for Innovation, Technology And Trade: With India’s UPI payment system implemented in countries like Singapore, France, and Sri Lanka, Modi proposes that this initiative could be extended to CARICOM.
C for Cricket and Culture: Highlighting the cultural bond over cricket between India and the Caribbean, PM Modi announced plans to train women cricketers from CARICOM countries in India. Additionally, a film festival showcasing Caribbean cinema will also be organised.
O for Ocean Economy: As many Caricom nations are oceanic, PM Modi proposed enhancing cooperation in the ocean economy, offering India’s support in providing passenger and cargo facility.
M for Medicine and Healthcare: Modi noted India aims to improve healthcare in CARICOM countries by opening Jan Aushadhi Kendras (affordable medicine centres), establishing diagnostic centres, providing mobile hospitals, and setting up food camps for differently-abled individuals. Additionally, sea ambulances will be made available to support the region’s healthcare needs.
President Ramnath Kovind’s visits to Jamaica and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines in May 2022, was the first visit to the Caribbean island nations by an Indian Head of State. The visit is important as the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region for the first time emerged as a significant geopolitical pole of the world. For India, it is attempting to look beyond the traditional trade routes to North America and Europe.
Many economic experts believe that, for the Caricom nations, relations with India and other emerging economies in the “Global South” are extremely important as it could support regional integration and bring sustainable development solutions. The Caricom countries are looking at a more diverse set of relations with new partners to help it achieve its goals of building economic diversity, strengthen political ties and work with countries on issues of concern such as climate change and environmental protection, disaster relief, sustainable energy and energy security among other areas. Prime Minister Modi has emphasised on partnering with Caricom countries in capacity building, development assistance and cooperation in disaster management and resilience.
Both sides can also cooperate to build solutions to energy transmission challenges that may be unique to their respective regions such as transmission of power over difficult terrain for India and across islands divided by oceans for the Caribbean countries. A critical problem facing most Caricom countries is their dependence on imported fossil fuels for power generation. Adoption of renewable energy has been limited for reasons including: high initial costs, grid stability issues and an insufficient understanding of clean energy resources.
Another aspect of cooperation is developing and deployment of smart grid technology. The Caricom countries are exploring smart grid technology to enhance their existing power networks; India also has a Smart Grid Vision and has been taking steps to implement it through developments in software, technology, and know-how that can be leveraged to provide power to all its citizens.
Another sector of collaboration between India and Caricom countries could be in the smart mobility. The government of India has set itself an ambitious target to make India a 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030 through more investments in public transport systems and work towards adopting new mobility solutions. India aims to make a transport sector that is well connected, energy efficient and less polluting.
As the Caribbean nations work towards building smart cities, smart mobility technology innovation and research & development provide an opportune area for partnerships. Given similarities in the challenges that India and the Caricom countries face and India’s growing knowledge base, working with each other to build capacity and find build cost effective solutions to common concerns will further strengthen the relations.