New York, 24 September (H.S.): The India-CARICOM Foreign Ministers' Meeting was held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Suriname's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and Cooperation Melvin W. J. Bouva co-chairing the meeting.

The meeting followed the second India-CARICOM Summit chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of CARICOM countries in Guyana in November 2024.

Foreign Ministers from Barbados, Dominica, the Bahamas, Guyana, Jamaica, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Haiti, St Lucia, St Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda attended the meeting. Grenada's Finance Minister, the CEO of Belize's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Natalie Barnett also participated.

The two sides reviewed progress in India-CARICOM cooperation and discussed ways to deepen political engagement, trade and investment ties. Agriculture and food security, digital governance, climate resilience and energy cooperation were among the areas discussed.

CARICOM leaders acknowledged India's development partnership in the region and its contribution to strengthening South-South cooperation.

The two sides also discussed coordination in multilateral forums and agreed to continue working together on issues including UN reforms, climate change, counter-terrorism and transnational crime.

During the meeting, the CARICOM co-chair conveyed the grouping's decision to support India's candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2028-29 term.

Jaishankar thanked the CARICOM countries for their support and said India would remain a strong voice of the Global South.

The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of India and CARICOM to further strengthen their partnership at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar