The CARICOM Mission to India, led by the Chairman of the Community Council of Ministers Hon. K.D. Knight, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica and including the CARICOM Secretary General His Excellency Edwin Carrington and his Special Assistant, Ms. Glenda Itiaba, got underway on Tuesday, 25 November with discussions in Delhi, with the Hon. Yashwant Sinha, Minister of External Affairs of India and other representatives of the Indian Government.
Those discussions focused on several issues of interest to both sides, including: the fight against HIV/AIDS, combating global terrorism, support for the Doha Development Agenda and in particular special and differential treatment for smaller economies; the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and reform of that organisation.
The CARICOM Delegation welcomed the indication by the Indian Minister of External Affairs of his country’s keen interest in supporting regional integration efforts and in particular its willingness to consider membership of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB); to assist the Region in hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup; and to explore the possibility of contributing to equipping the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, in the area of information technology.
The discussions were followed by the signing, by CARICOM Secretary-General and Mr. Shashank, Senior Permanent Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India of an agreement establishing a CARICOM-India Joint Commission on Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination. The Joint Commission is intended to institutionalise and enhance CARICOM-India relations taking into consideration the cooperation already existing between India and several CARICOM Member States. One of the first tasks of the Joint Commission will be to formulate a CARICOM-India Technical Cooperation Programme in a range of areas, including in particular information technology an area of considerable Indian expertise.
The Joint Commission will meet at the level of Senior Officials on an annual basis with the first meeting being held during the first quarter of 2004. Discussions will also be held at the level of Ministers at least every two years. Both sides agreed that every effort would be made to ensure the success of the Joint Commission with a view to making it a model of South-South Cooperation.
Continuing their five-day mission to India, the CARICOM Delegation will visit a number of historical sites and industrial enterprises, including an international trade fair in Delhi, a hi-tech city and the National Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad, the Taj Mahal in Agra and an automobile plant in Mumbai (Bombay) prior to its departure on 30 November 2003.
