Narendra Modi meets Caribbean Community Leaders

5 Dariya News

New York 26-Sep-2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India and the CARICOM, a group of 15 members of the Caribbean Community, will seek to energise their ties as the two sides held their first ever Leaders Meeting on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly here.The CARICOM countries cover a total area of over 177,000 square miles, with a total population among the 15 countries at over 18 million.Addressing the India-Caricom Leaders'' Meeting, Modi thanked the nations for accepting India''s invite for the meeting. He said India like the Caricom countries is fighting against poverty and climate related issues.He said India seeks to energise ties with the Caricom, with both sides focused on inclusive development for their people.Leaders from Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago attended the summit.The Caribbean Community (Caricom) and India reaffirmed their decades-old ties with the accreditation of a new envoy to Caricom, K. J Srinivasa earlier this month.Caricom Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, while meeting Srinivasa, described India as "an important partner for the Caribbean Community."India has contributed $1 million towards recovery and reconstruction efforts in the Bahamas following the hurricane. India had also donated $ 1 million to assist Antigua and Barbuda recover from the 2017 Hurricanes.The Caribbean Community has a large population of Indian-origin people,