PM Modi honoured with Guyana & Dominica's highest National Honour

During his visit to Guyana Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest national award of Guyana and the Dominican Republic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the fourth foreign dignitary to receive Guyana's highest national award, “The Order of Excellence”. 

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana conferred the award on Narendra Modi in a ceremony at Georgetown on November 19, 2024.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured with Dominica’s highest national award, the Dominica Award of Honour, by Dominican Republic President Sylvanie Burton. Burton conferred the award on the sidelines of the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit meeting held in Georgetown, Guyana, on 20 November 2024.

After Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (1969), Prime Minister Modi was the second foreign leader to receive the award.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Georgetown, Guyana, on 19 November 2024, on the last leg of his three-nation tour of Nigeria, Brazil, and Guyana from 16-21 November 2024.

The Prime Minister's visit to Guyana was bilateral, and he also attended the 2nd India-CARICOM summit meeting.

Outcome of Bilateral visit of PM Modi  to Guyana 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the second Indian Prime Minister to visit Guyana after Indira Gandhi in 1968.
• Guyanese President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Mark Anthony Phillip received him at the Georgetown Airport.
• He was handed over the “Key to the City of Georgetown” by the city Mayor. 
• He offered tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi statue at the Promenade Garden in Georgetown. 
• He also visited the Indian Arrival Monument in the Monument Garden. It commemorates the arrival of the first ship carrying Indian indentured labourers in 1838.
• He addressed the special sitting of the Country’s Parliament called the National Assembly.
• He addressed the Indian diaspora in Georgetown. Around 40 % of the Guyana population are of Indian origin, who were brought to the country to work in the sugarcane field after the abolition of slavery.
• Prime Minister Modi held state-level talks with Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, the President of Guyana, and discussed issues of mutual importance.

Ten MoUs signed between India and Guyana 

The two countries signed ten Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to deepen their bilateral relationships.

• Cooperation in the Hydrocarbons Sector (Guyana is a major crude petroleum oil exporting country)
• Agriculture and Allied Sectors
• Cultural Exchange Programme (2024-27)
• Recognition of Indian Pharmacopoeia regulation by Guyana 
• implementation of the Jan Aushadhi Scheme in Guyana(Mauritius is the first foreign country in the world where first Janaushadhi Kendra was set up)
• Cooperation in the field of medical products
• Cooperation in sharing successful digital solutions implemented at the population scale for digital transformation using INDIA STACK.
• Deployment of NPCI developed UPI like system in Guyana
• MoU between  Prasar Bharti and Guyana’s National Communications Network for cooperation in broadcasting.
• Defence Cooperation between National Defence Institute, Guyana and Rashtriya Raksha University, Gujarat.

Second India-CARICOM Summit meeting

The first India-CARICOM summit meeting was held on the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly meeting on September 25, 2019,

The 2nd  India-CARICOM summit meeting was held in Georgetown, Guyana, on 20 November 2024.

Co-Host of the Summit: Narendra Modi and Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada and  Chair of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM.

The meeting was attended by the leaders of the 14 CARICOM countries. No representative of Haiti was present during the Summit Meeting.

During his speech, the Prime Minister proposed seven key pillars to strengthen the ties between India and CARICOM -  C for Capacity Building, A for Agriculture and Food Security, R for Renewable Energy and Climate Change, I for Innovation, Technology and Trade, C for Cricket and Culture, O for Ocean Economy and M for Medicine and Healthcare.

India will host the third India-CARICOM Summit meeting in 2025.

About CARICOM

The Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, was established in 1973 under the provisions of the Treaty of Chaguaramas to promote economic integration and relations between Caribbean countries.

Members: 15 Member States and six Associate Members (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Turks and Caicos Islands).

15 Member Countries: Guyana, Dominica, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica, Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Haiti.

Headquarters: Georgetown, Guyana

Secretary General: Mrs Carla Natalie Barnett 

About the Co-operative Republic of Guyana

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana, or Guyana, is located in the northeastern corner of South America.

In 1969, it gained independence from the United Kingdom, and it is a member of the Commonwealth.

Its population is mainly of African descent, who were brought as slaves by the British and the indentured Indian labourers.

The country is a leading exporter of crude petroleum oil.

Capital: Georgetown

President: Mohamed Irfaan Ali

Currency: Guyanese dollar