Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 25, 2019 (Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister): A historic CARICOM-India Summit-Level Meeting took place today, Wednesday, September 25th, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, met with India’s Prime Minister, the Honourable Narendra Modi along with other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Government, including CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister the Honourable Allen Chastanet of Saint Lucia. Prime Minister Chastanet co-chaired the meeting with Prime Minister Modi.
Foreign Affairs Ministers, including the Honourable Mark Brantley of St. Kitts and Nevis, and other high-ranking officials from the Caribbean Community were in attendance.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis was also represented by St. Kitts and Nevis’ Ambassador to the United Nations, His Excellency Sam Condor; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Kaye Bass, and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Andrew Skerritt.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi announced a USD $14 million grant for “quick impact” community development projects within CARICOM, as well as a USD $150 million line of credit to finance renewable energy and climate change-related projects in the Caribbean Community.
Additionally, the Prime Minister of India announced the establishment of the Regional Centre for Excellence in Information Technology in Guyana and the Regional Vocational Training Centre in Belize, which are upgrades to the existing India-funded centres in those two countries.
Coming out of the meeting, a joint task force will be created to map the way forward in deepening relations between CARICOM and India on bilateral and regional matters.