India-Guyana ties took major strides forward this New Year when leaders of both countries pledged to strengthen the historical bonds their nations shared.
Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and President of Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali discussed wide-ranging issues on the sidelines of 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) held in Indore early January (8-14).
The talks centred on co-operation in energy, infrastructure development, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, technology and innovation, and defence.
Following the talks, Dr Ali said that Prime Minister Modi was fully aware of the transformation Guyana was undergoing. “We had discussions on how we can broaden our health and education services to ensure that the people of Guyana have the best possible access to this,” he said, adding, “A crucial point of discussion were capacity building and training to strengthen the human resource base.”.
Dr Ali expressed interest in exploring the different development models adopted by India to build its economy. “India has been leading the way on technology, renewable energy, the soil movement, sustainable development, and I’m just very keen on looking at the different models that India would have utilized in building its economy,” he said.
President Ali said the talks also focused on a bilateral defence cooperation with Guyana taking major initiatives to modernize its military, and police force.
While hailing India’s leading role in global transformation in the fields of human resources or cost-effective manufacturing of essential vaccines, Dr Ali said, “Development of technology, medical research and manufacturing vaccines benefitted the world” and that “India is at the forefront in all of this.”
President Irfaan Ali, who was the Chief Guest at the PBD, also held bilateral discussions with President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu.
He attended PBD’s Valedictory Session and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (PBS) Award Ceremony on 10 January 2023. He also participated in the Global Investors Summit 2023 on 11 January, and visited Delhi, Kanpur, Bangalore and Mumbai.
As per official data, Guyana is home to 40 per cent Indian origin people.