Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness to visit India this week

Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness will be visiting India this week, as India-Caribbean engagement grows. He will be in India from September 30 to October 3 and will be holding a meetingwith Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. This will be PM Andrew's first visit to India, and also the first-ever bilateral visit by a Jamaican PM to India. The visiting head of government willalso call on the Indian president and vice president.A number of MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit, giving a boost to bilateral ties.

From strong people ties to development partnerships and passion for cricket, the two countries have numerous key areas of convergence.PM Modi and his Jamaican counterpart have met several times in the past, especially in 2018, on the sidelines of various summits: CHOGM in April 2018 in London, BRICS Summit in South Africa in July 2018 and at G20 Summit in Argentina in December 2018.

Training and capacity building is the main pillar of bilateral relations and over the years, more than 360 Jamaican nationals have been trained in various institutions in India under the ITEC programme.

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The country is home to a large Indian diaspora, approximately 70,000, whose ancestors arrived as indentured labourers primarily between 1845 and 1917. In fact, May 10 is celebrated as India Heritage Day in Jamaica, to mark the arrival of the first Indian in Jamaica.

This diaspora, which makes up around three per cent of Jamaica's population, is well integrated into Jamaican society and is fondly described as ‘genetically embedded and integrated’.

The Caribbean country has signed and ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and is now a full-fledged member of the group. In 2021, India gifted 50,000 doses of ‘Made in India’ COVID-19 vaccine to the country. Delhi has also been playing a key role in various projects in the country, including a rural development project in Kitson Town and gave Flood Lights for Sabina Park Stadium, and 100 cricket kits to the Jamaica Cricket Association.