THE relationship between India and Guyana ever since the independence of Guyana in May 1966, has been close and cordial with a high degree of understanding.

The warmth in the relationship remains unaffected over the decades, and this was further cemented recently when President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali offered 200 acres of land in Guyana for the exclusive production of millets in honour of the United Nations declaring the year 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM).

Dr Irfaan Ali also extended an invitation to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) scheduled for February 2023, to give India’s vision on Agriculture and Food Security.

President Ali, who is CARICOM’s Head of the Sub-Committee on Agriculture and Food Security, has also extended an invitation to Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, to visit Guyana and deliver the keynote speech at CARICOM’s Agri Forum scheduled for August 2023.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Tomar noted that the International Year of Millets (IYOM) – 2023 would provide an opportunity to increase global production, efficient processing and better use of crop rotation, and promote millets as a major component of the food basket.

Millets provide an alternative food system in times of increasing demand for vegetarian foods, as it contributes to a balanced diet and a safe environment. Asia and Africa are the primary production and consumption centres of millet crops, particularly India, Sudan, and Nigeria are the major producers of millet.

Millets were the first crops cultivated in Asia and Africa, later spreading as an essential food source for advanced civilizations worldwide.
President Ali noted that the two countries share a common heritage and values, while emphasizing the need to strengthen bilateral relations as Guyana is poised for rapid growth and development.

India has offered credit facilities to Guyana for use in mutually accepted designated fields, agriculture and information technology being two of these.
Indian companies have also expressed interest in biofuel, energy, minerals and pharmaceuticals.

The Government of India has helped the Government of Guyana complete the following projects: the National Cricket Stadium, supply and installation of 50 solar traffic lights, and procuring drainage pumps.

India is also assisting in setting up a Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT).
Other projects include assistance with the ocean-going vessel/passenger ferry, construction of East Bank East-Coast road linkage, acquisition of fixed and mobile pumps and associated structures and spares, the upgrading of three regional hospitals, rice-husk gasifier and assistance for quick-impact community development projects.

Further, the love for cricket is another area that binds the two countries intimately.

Guyana is home to a number of Indian-origin people who went to the Caribbean islands many years ago, and India has been an ally of Guyana since the first democratic election in 1992.
India’s GDP is expected to reach US$5trillion by 2025 and achieve upper-middle income status on the back of digitization, globalization, favourable demographics, and reforms.

India is also focusing on renewable sources to generate energy. It is planning to achieve 40 per cent of its energy from non-fossil sources by 2030, which is currently 30 per cent, and increase its renewable energy capacity from to 175 gigawatts (GW) in 2022.

India is expected to be the third largest consumer economy as its consumption may triple to US$4trillion by 2025, owing to a shift in consumer behaviour and expenditure pattern, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report.

It is estimated to surpass USA to become the second-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by 2040, per PricewaterhouseCoopers’s report.