By Peter Richards
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Jul 4, CMC – India’s Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is ending a two-day state visit here on Friday, assuring Trinidad and Tobago of there being “no limit to our cooperation” and having Port of Spain play an integral role in the global south taking its rightful place on the world stage.
Modi, 74, also told a joint sitting of Parliament that his country was willing to collaborate with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in a number of areas, including technology.
“Trinidad and Tobago will be a priority nation for us. We will share our expertise in agriculture, horticulture, and food processing. Machinery from India will support your agro industry, and because development is about dignity, we will organise an artificial limb fitment camp and differently abled citizens here….
“For us, there are no limits to our cooperation with you. We will always be guided by your needs and priorities. Friends, synergy between our nations holds immense promise,” he said.
Modi said that as a key player in the Caribbean and a bridge to Latin America “Trinidad and Tobago has a great potential” and that he is “sure that our ties will help us form a stronger connection with the wider region building on the momentum on the second India-CARICOM summit” that was held in Guyana late last year.
Modi said that India is eager to collaborate on the initiatives that were discussed at the summit to enhance trade and investments, build infrastructure, and support overall capacity building on a large scale..
The Indian Prime Minister said that he also views the partnership in a larger global framework, given the changing global environment and the “fundamental shifts like politics and power.
“There are growing global divisions and disparities (and the world is faced with challenges of climate change, food and energy security. Terrorism remains a pressing threat; colonial rules of the past may have ended, but their shadows linger in new forms.
“There are new challenges in space and cybersecurity. Artificial intelligence is unlocking new opportunities, as well as this, the old institutions are struggling to deliver peace and progress at the same time, the global south is rising”.
He said there is a need for a new world order, recalling that when the United Nations had turned 75 years old, “there was great hope across the developing world…that long pending reforms would be realised (and) that their voices would finally be heard.
“But that hope has turned into disappointment. The voice of the developing world remains in the margins,” Modi said, adding that India has always tried to bridge this gap.
“For India, mutual and holistic advancement for society and growth across regions. It is the guiding vision for the Global South. Whenever we have the opportunity, we have given voice to the global south”.
Modi said that during India’s presidency of the G20, an international forum of both developing and developed countries which seeks to find solutions to global economic and financial problems, “we brought the concerns of the global south to the center of global decision making”.
He said during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, even while it was caring for 1.4 billion people at home, New Delhi provided vaccines and medicines to more than 150 countries.
“In times of disaster, we have responded swiftly with aid, relief, and solidarity. Our development partnership is demand-driven, respectful, and without conditions,” Modi said, adding “it is time for us to work together to give the global south its rightful place at the right table”.
He said regarding climate justice, it is important for the global south to ensure that the burden “does not fall on those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis.
“We consider Trinidad and Tobago an important partner in this endeavour. Friends, our two countries may differ in size and geography, but we are deeply aligned in our values. We are proud democracies, we believe in dialogue, sovereignty, multilateralism, and human dignity.
“In these times of conflict, we must remain true to those values. Terrorism is the enemy of humanity,” he said, noting “ we stand united to prevent terrorism in any form or space”.
Earlier, Modi received the country’s highest award, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT), from President Christine Kangaloo at a ceremony held at the President’s House, and during his address to the legislators, said he cherished the award.
“Friends, earlier today, Her Excellency the President, gratuitously conferred upon me this country’s highest national award. I accept it with humility on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians with immense gratitude. I dedicate it to the enduring friendship and the ancestral ties between our two nations.”
Modi, who has been the Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world since 2014 and is now serving his third term, in 2024, received the highest national awards from Barbados, Guyana, and Dominica.
Modi said he was also “delighted to have so many women members in the Parliament here.
“Respect for women is deeply rooted in Indian culture,” he said, noting that one of his country’s most important holy texts states that one daughter brings as much happiness as 10 sons, and women are leading India into a new future.
“Like you, we have our women who rose from humble beginnings to become our President,” he said, adding that in Trinidad and Tobago, the people have chosen “remarkable women leaders, the president and the prime minister, who proudly call themselves daughters of the Indian diaspora. “They take pride in their Indian heritage,” he added.
CMC/pr/ir/2025