High Commission of India, Georgetown, Guyana
Bilateral Brief – India-CARICOM Bilateral Brief – India-CARICOM

Bilateral Brief – India-CARICOM

High Commission of India

Georgetown

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India-CARICOM Bilateral Relations

  1. Membership: CARICOM, Caribbean Community and Common Market, which is known as the Caribbean Community, was established on 4th July 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, and has 15 members – Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago. Associate Members countries are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, French Guiana, Martinique and Turks & Caicos Islands. The Chair of CARICOM rotates every six months among member states. The current Chair is Saint Lucia w.e.f. July 1, 2026.

  2. Accreditation: CARICOM is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana. The High Commissioner of India in Georgetown is accredited to it as Ambassador

  3. Engagement: First political visit from CARICOM to India was in November 2003 when a delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Jamaica and the then Chairman of the Community Council Hon. K.D. Knight, visited India which resulted in signing of an agreement establishing a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination. India-CARICOM Foreign Ministers Meetings (COFCOR): i) The first meeting of India-CARICOM Foreign Ministers was held on 15th February 2005 at Paramaribo (Suriname) on the sidelines of CARICOM Summit; ii) Second India–CARICOM Ministerial Meeting held in New York on September 30, 2015 on the margins of the 70th session of the UNGA; iii) Third India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting was also held on the sidelines of UNGA at New York on 19 September 2017; iv)  India formally participated for the first time in the 4th India-COFCOR meeting on 21 April 2023 during the visit of Hon’ble EAM to Georgetown, Guyana at CARICOM headquarters; v) Fifth India-COFCOR meeting took place on 27 September 2024 in New York on the sidelines of UNGA, co-chaired by Hon’ble EAM. India-CARICOM Joint Commission Meetings: i) First Meeting of the India-CARICOM Joint Commission was held in Georgetown on 2nd June 2015, ii) 2nd India-CARICOM Joint Commission was held virtually on 06 November 2024. India-CARICOM Summits: i) First India-CARICOM Summit was held on 25 September 2019 on the sidelines of UNGA led by Hon’ble PM. ii) Second India-CARICOM Summit held on 20 November 2024 was co-chaired by Hon’ble PM, along with PM of Grenada Dickon Mitchel during former’s visit to Guyana.

    Secretary (West) met SG (CARICOM) in May 2024 on the sidelines of 4th SIDS Conference in Antigua & Barbuda.

    During Covid-19 in 2021, India gifted around 5 lakh doses of vaccines to CARICOM member states.

    A round table discussion entitled 'India-CARICOM Cooperation in Resource Mapping, Climate Change and Agricultural Research & Development' was held on July 25, 2025 in Georgetown in collaboration with ISRO and CSIR. The event was organized as a further step towards implementation of various outcomes from the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit held in Georgetown, in November 2024.

    A workshop-cum-exhibition on ‘India-CARICOM Cooperation in Counter Terrorism & Law Enforcement’ was organized in Georgetown on 17 October 2025 with participation of CARICOM Secretariat, among others.
  1. Institutional Dialogue Mechanism: while the agreement to establish a Standing Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination was signed between India and CARICOM in November 2003, its first meeting took place only in 2015. 2nd JCM was held virtually on 6 November 2024.

  2. Capacity Building: A training programme on capacity building in Strategic Planning, Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation was conducted by two experts from the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmadabad from 10-20 July 2017 at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown.   A special training programme for mid-level CARICOM diplomats was conducted from 13-24 November 2017 at Foreign Service Institute in New Delhi in which 25 diplomats from the CARICOM participated. 2nd Special Programme was held in August 2019 with the participation of 23 diplomats from 10 countries.  Two CARICOM officers attended the G20 Conference titled "Crime and Security in the age of NFTs, AI and Metaverse" on 13-14 July 2023. In November 2025, a group of 20 diplomats from CARICOM Secretariat and CARICOM members states participated in the 1st Special Course for Diplomats for Central & South America and Caribbean Islands, hosted by Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, New Delhi. A customized ITEC course on "Impact of AI on “Global Governance, Institutional Operations and Public Service Delivery" for CARICOM countries was attended by 3 CARICOM officials from 2-7 February 2026 in New Delhi.

  3. Trade & Investment: India-CARICOM business event which was discussed during the Joint Commission Meeting and the subsequent Ministerial and Summit meetings is yet to materialize. SG (CARICOM) sent a video message during the  9th India-LAC Conclave held in India in August 2023. India-CARICOM Business Summit could be considered on the margins of a regular Trade and Investment event in the Caribbean region in one or many of the countries.

  4. Development Cooperation: During the third India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting in September 2017, India offered emergency aid of US$ 200,000/- to the worst affected CARICOM countries (US$ 100,000 each to Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica) and additional US$ 2 million from the India-UN Partnership Fund for South-South Cooperation for rehabilitation projects in CARICOM. In the first India-CARICOM Summit held in 2019, India offered US$ 14 million Grant (US$ 1million per CARICOM member state) for quick impact community development projects; US$ 150 million Line of Credit (US$ 10 million per CARICOM member state) for solar energy and climate change related projects; and special capacity building courses, training and deputation of experts based on CARICOM requirements. During the India-CARICOM Foreign Ministerial Meeting held in Georgetown in April 2023, India offered US$ 1 million Grant and five Quick Impact Development Projects for US$ 50,000 in a year to CARICOM Member States to support small and medium-scale enterprises and socio-economic development and social infrastructure. In the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit held on 20 November 2024, Hon. PM offered assistance to CARICOM countries in seven key areas, i.e. capacity building, agriculture and food security, renewable energy and climate change, innovation, technology and trade, cricket and culture, ocean economy and maritime security, medicine and healthcare.

    ICT Centres have been established in Grenada and Guyana. Under ITEC Programme, an Indian fisheries expert/scientist Dr. Pranaya Kumar Parida, was deputed to the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from December 2022 to January 2025 for assisting with fisheries assessment/statistical analysis/development plan formulation activities for CARICOM.

  1. Culture, Sports & people-to-people ties: More than half a million Indians were brought to the Caribbean between 1838 and 1917 by the British to work as indentured labour in the sugar plantations.  They have kept the Indian cultural traditions and heritage alive.  Common love for cricket and Indian movies is another important area for cementing people-to-people ties. The past and present cricketers from this region are household names in India. A number of renowned cricketers from West Indies participate in IPL too.

 

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August 2026