GUYANA and India have agreed to explore possibilities of strengthening democracy. That gesture was made during an engagement between Speaker of the National Assembly, Mansoor Nadir, and his Indian counterpart, Om Birla. They both participated at the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held in Austria.

Both Guyana and India subscribe to the principles of democracy and democratic rule, with India being considered one of the largest democracy in the world. With over one billion people, it is second only to China in terms of population size.

Relations between Guyana and India have always been cordial, characterised by a high degree of understanding. That interaction is structured through periodic joint commissions, foreign office consultations, cultural exchange programmes and Indian Technical and Co-operation (ITEC) among others, according to a statement from the Indian High Commission in Guyana.

Apart from being the largest democracy in the world, India is also considered a ‘model’ democracy in terms of periodic elections which are considered free and fair. Since attaining political independence from Britain in 1947, the country held 17 general elections and 300 assembly elections. Guyana, by contrast, experienced eleven General and Regional elections since independence, four of which were massively rigged in favour of the People’s National Congress (PNC) which rigged its way to power from 1968 to 1992.

Democracy in Guyana still remains fragile as could be seen from recent attempts by the APNU+AFC Coalition to derail the democratic process and perpetuate its rule through undemocratic and fraudulent means. Thankfully, with the intervention of the courts and strong international support, those attempts were thwarted but it provided some valuable lessons that we cannot take our democracy for granted.

The gesture by the speakers of the two parliaments is both timely and relevant. Democracy is an essential ingredient for national development and any form of collaboration between the two countries in respect to the strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions is most welcome.

Guyana has benefitted significantly in terms of financial and technical assistance and also in the area of human resource development. Through the ITEC programme, several Guyanese benefitted from scholarships offered by the Indian government. President, Dr. Irfaan Ali was also a beneficiary of that programme.

Diplomatic relations between Guyana and India were established in May 1966, the same year Guyana attained its independence from Great Britain. Ever since then relations have been cordial. Both countries were once part of the British Empire. Today, India is a major industrial power and is ranked among the fastest growing economies in the world.

Both countries share some similarities in terms of culture and history with a substantial number of Guyanese having Indian ancestral roots. The struggle for independence from Great Britain saw some epic battles waged by political leaders from both India and Guyana but in the end representative democracy prevailed.

That commonality in terms of history and culture has laid a strong and enduring foundation for sustained collaboration and co-operation both at the diplomatic and at the cultural levels.  This was re-affirmed by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, during a congratulatory letter to Guyana’s President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali. According to Prime Minister Modi, the two countries enjoy close and cordial relations based on the foundations of democracy, shared culture and history.

The scope to further enhance economic, cultural and people-to-people ties is enormous. It is therefore commendable that both counties are exploring new ways of deepening and broadening that potential.