PM receives Guyana's highest National Award 'The Order of Excellence', in Georgetown, in Guyana on November 20, 2024.
Georgetown: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest national award of Guyana, “The Order of Excellence”, for his ‘visionary statesmanship, for championing the rights of developing countries on the global stage, for exceptional service to the global community and for his commitment to strengthening India-Guyana relations’, here on November 20, 2024.
On the same day, the Indian Prime Minister also received Dominica’s highest National Award, the “Dominica Award of Honour” from the Caribbean nation’s President Sylvanie Burton, for his statesmanship, support to Dominica during the COVID-19 pandemic and his commitment to strengthening India and Dominica ties.
The award ceremonies were held on the sidelines of the Second India-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Summit. The first India-CARICOM Summit was held in 2019 in New York. Modi announced that the next India-CARICOM Summit would be hosted in India.
The Indian Prime Minister is only the fourth foreign leader to be conferred with the highest National award of Guyana. In a ceremony at the State House on November 20, 2024, the President of Guyana, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, conferred upon Modi his nation’s highest award. While accepting the award, Modi dedicated the honour to the people of India and the deep-rooted historical ties between the people of the two countries. He emphasized that his State visit is a testament to India’s continued commitment towards deepening India-Guyana friendship. He also addressed the National Assembly of the Parliament of Guyana today, thus becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so. A special session of the Parliament was convened by the Speaker, Manzoor Nadir, for his address.
Modi urged for greater exchanges between the two countries in the field of education and innovation so that the potential of the youth could be fully realized. Conveying India’s steadfast support to the Caribbean region, he thanked President Ali for hosting the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit here. Underscoring India’s deep commitment to further strengthening India-Guyana historical ties, he stated that Guyana could become the bridge of opportunities between India and the Latin American continent.
Prime Minister Modi and the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell, the current CARICOM Chair, chaired the 2nd India-CARICOM Summit in Georgetown on 20 November 2024.
Expressing his deep solidarity with the people of CARICOM, the Indian Prime Minister conveyed his sympathies for the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in the region. Noting that the Global South countries were the most impacted by the challenges and conflicts of recent years, he reaffirmed India’s steadfast commitment to CARICOM countries as a reliable partner. He emphasized that India’s development cooperation support was based on the needs and priorities of CARICOM countries.
To further build on India’s close development partnership and strong people-to-people ties with the region, Modi offered assistance to CARICOM countries in seven key areas. These areas fit well with the CARICOM acronym and amplify the close bonds of friendship between India and the group. They are:
● C: Capacity Building
● A: Agriculture and Food Security
● R: Renewable Energy and Climate Change
● I: Innovation, Technology and Trade
● C: Cricket and Culture
● O: Ocean Economy and Maritime Security
● M: Medicine and Healthcare
The CARICOM leaders welcomed Modi’s Seven Point Plan for strengthening partnership between India and CARICOM. They appreciated India’s leadership of the Global South and its strong support for climate justice for the Small Island Developing States. They called for reform of global institutions and in this regard looked forward to working closely with India.
Modi said relations between India and CARICOM countries were based on their shared past experiences, shared present-day needs, and shared aspirations for the future. He underscored that India stood firmly for giving voice to the concerns of the Global South.
“India is totally committed to taking these relations to new heights. In all our efforts, we have focused on the concerns of the Global South and its priorities, he said.
In addition to the President of Guyana and the Prime Minister of Grenada, the Summit was attended by the President of Dominica, Sylvanie Burton, and Prime Minister of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; President of Suriname, Chandrikapersad Santokhi; Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago Dr Keith Rowley; Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley; Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda, Gaston Browne; Prime Minister of Grenada H.E. Dickon Mitchell; Prime Minister & Minister of Finance of Bahamas, Philip Edward Davis, K.C.; Prime Miniter of St. Lucia, Philip J Pierre; Prime Minister of St. Vincent, Ralph Everard Gonsalves; Prime Minister of Bahamas, Philip Edward Davis; Foreign Minister of Belize, Francis Fonseca; Foreign Minister of Jamaica, Kamina Smith; and Foreign Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis, Dr Denzil Douglas
– global bihari bureau
