INDIA’S Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will no longer be visiting Guyana in December, Minister of State, Joseph Harmon has confirmed.

During a press conference at the Ministry of the Presidency on Friday, Minister Harmon said based on information received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Modi will no longer be visiting in December. According to information supplied to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, domestic issues have constrained him from visiting Guyana as was planned.
The visit by Prime Minister Modi was planned during a bilateral meeting with President David Granger in New Delhi, India last March. During that meeting, President Granger and Prime Minister Modi had pledged to strengthen the historical ties between Guyana and India through increased cooperation.

Noting then that India is willing to assist Guyana in its development, the Indian prime minister had pointed out there are many areas for cooperation, particularly in the sugar and oil sectors.

Notwithstanding the postponement of the visit by Prime Minister Modi, works continues on the construction of the Indian Immigration Monument, Palmyra Region Six. Last month, a $38M contract was awarded for the construction of the visitor’s gallery and security hut at the monument. In honour of the continued relationship between the two nations, the monument was gifted to the Government of Guyana by the Government of the Republic of India as a symbol of cultural and historical celebration.

The 12×12 monument is sculpted in bronze, weighing some 17 tonnes, and is a visual representation of ordinary Indian people in routine everyday life, with each bearing a significant artifact as an ode to the continued traditions brought by our forefathers from India, translated to current livelihood and practices by Guyanese today. According to reports, $97 million had been allocated for the building of the structure upon which the monument would be placed. The actual donated monument is said to have cost some US$150,000.