4th India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting

• 22 Apr 2023

On 21^st April, 2023, India’s External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 4^th India-CARICOM Ministerial Meeting with his Jamaican counterpart in Georgetown, Guyana's capital.

• The External Affairs Minister also had separate bilateral meetings with counterparts from Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Grenada, and Barbados.
• The participants discussed wide-ranging India-CARICOM sectoral cooperation, including in Trade & Economy; Agriculture & Food Security; Health & Pharma; Energy & Renewables; Infrastructure, ICT & eGovernance; Development Partnership & Capacity Building; Higher Education; Culture and P2P domains.
• They also exchanged views on vital issues of Climate Change & Disaster Resilience; Counter Terrorism; Reformed Multilateralism and closer cooperation at multilateral forums.
• The participants agreed on follow-up steps, including holding the second Joint Commission Meeting this year.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five Associate Members.

• CARICOM came into being on 4^th July, 1973, with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
• The Treaty was later revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy.
• CARICOM rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security.