PM Modi made this proposal for India-CARICOM cooperation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a seven-pillar structure, based on the acronym “C.A.R.I.C.O.M.” to strengthen collaboration between India and CARICOM during the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit.

The Ministry of External Affairs’ (MEA) official spokesman, Randhir Jaiswal, posted the news on X (formerly Twitter): “The current CARICOM chair, PM Dickon Mitchell of Grenada, co-chaired the second India-CARICOM Summit with PM Narendra Modi.

The PM expressed gratitude to Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali for hosting the summit. Member state foreign ministers and heads of government attended the ceremony. The Prime Minister suggested a seven-pillar structure, or C.A.R.I.C.O.M., to further solidify the India-CARICOM alliance.

PM Modi gave an explanation of the framework at the summit, saying, “I want to make a statement that it is built on seven fundamental pillars to deepen our ties in the future. Each of these seven pillars is ‘CARICOM’. C stands for capacity building, and India has been assisting CARICOM countries in developing their capacity through training, scholarships, and techniques. Over the next five years, we plan to increase the number of ITEC scholarship slots by 1,000, work to establish forensic centers for CARICOM, and collaborate with CARICOM partners to provide parliamentary training as well.”

“A stands for Agriculture and Food Security,” he added, before highlighting the importance of collaboration in the areas of innovation, technology, and trade (I), medicine and healthcare (M), cricket and culture (C), ocean economy and maritime security (O), and renewable energy and climate change (R). Each of these pillars stands for a crucial area in which India hopes to support the CARICOM countries’ growth.

PM Modi discussed the difficulties that the global south and CARICOM nations confront in his speech.
“There have been a lot of changes in the world, and individuals have had to deal with a lot of obstacles. We, the nations of the global south, have been most affected by this. As a result, India has consistently attempted to address these issues with CARICOM. “India has stood with all of you and moved forward like a trustworthy partner, whether it is COVID or natural disasters, capacity building or development issues,” he remarked.

PM Modi presented a comprehensive framework for enhancing India-CARICOM relations via these seven pillars, emphasizing cooperation in the areas of healthcare, technology, culture, agriculture, renewable energy, capacity development, and maritime security.