At the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week, Guyana’s President and Foreign Minister held bilateral discussions with representatives of USA and several other countries. The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of India, as well as leaders of other countries, also held similar discussions with the President of USA and leaders of several other countries. The PM of India and President Ali could not meet because of scheduling issues. They met several other times in India, at the UN, and at Commonwealth and climate summits. India is a very important country not only because of ethnic and cultural ties but for invaluable economic relations and the role India plays in global politics. It is in Guyana’s best interests to develop closer economic and international relations as well as have cooperation with India.
Prime Minister Modi will be visiting neighboring Brazil in late November for G Guyana should invite the PM to Guyana for India-Guyana and India-Caribbean discussions on strengthening ties.
PM Modi visited countless countries during his ten years tenure as head of government. He never visited Guyana or the Caribbean region as PM although he did make a brief visit in 2000 before he made a name in politics extending his journey while he was in Trinidad for a Hindu conference. The PM met several Guyanese including this writer, Ravi Dev, Pandit Vikash, swami Aksharananda, among others, in Trinidad and in Washington, NY, New Jersey, and India at various Hindu conferences or at PBD when he was Chief Minister from 2002. He also engaged Bharrat Jagdeo and Irfaan Ali in India as PM before 2020 during his first term in office in January 2018. He was to visit Trinidad and Guyana in October 2017 while he was in Argentina for a G20 summit. Planning and arrangements, which this writer, Ravi Dev, and other Guyanese played a role, were in place for a visit in Trinidad and Guyana and for a Caricom-India summit. But it was called off at the last minute as the PM was urged to return to India by his party to campaign in state elections. This coming November, the PM will be in Rio for the annual G 20 summit; India hosted the summit last October. Guyana should take advantage of Modi’s presence in Brazil by requesting a state visit to Guyana; this will cement ties. As advised several times earlier, President Ali should tender an official invitation to the PM as an honored guest in our country for Caricom and bilateral discussions to improve trade and on India’s critical role in global affairs.
The PM has a soft spot for the girmitya diaspora — descendants of indentured laborers who number some ten millions. He met Guyanese and other Caribbean Indians whenever possible in India and in USA and Trinidad and Guyana. Two Sundays ago, several Trinidadians and Guyanese, including this writer, attended a reception for PM Modi in NY. Modi has been in engagements with Indo Caribbeans since the 1980s when they were studying at universities in India in Delhi and Benaras. Swami Aksharananda and Modi have had close relationship and encounters when Swami ji was studying in India and when Modi visited India and USA. Swami is well respected in India and among Indian diaspora. Modi was a powerful Pracharak (volunteer) who worked with Indo Caribbean Hindus including Swami-ji. Ravi Dev and Modi sat at the same platform addressing Hindu issues at a business conference in Washington in 1993. Swami was also at the conference. Modi was at several meetings and shaka in NY and New Jersey where Guyanese were attendees it participants.
A few years ago, after Irfaan became President, this writer and a few other Guyanese lobbied for President Irfaan to be Chief Guest at PBD 2023. The group of which I am a founding member also lobbied for President Santokhi to be Chief Guest in 2021, Jagdeo when he was President, Kamla when she was PM, and Basdeo Panday when he was Opposition Leader. PBD started in 2003 after intense lobbying by Indo Caribbean people in NY where commission met with Indo Caribbean representatives. A team from India visited Guyana in 2001 to hold discussion on PBD (gathering of Indian in diaspora) that led to its launch in January 2003; Rohan Kanhai, Shridath Ramphal and other prominent Guyanese were honored. Jagdeo was Chief Guest in 2004.
Because of Covid, Santokhi could not attend PBD in person to be honored in January 2021; PBD 2021 was postponed. Presidents Santokhi and Irfaan both attended the PBD as co-Chief Guests in 2023 and were honored with the prestigious Samman Award created to honor Indians in the diaspora. They both gave excellent speeches. Modi praised both.
Several Guyanese, Trinis, Surinamese, including this writer, were at the PBD conference and reception in Indore. The honor was suggested by Indian organizations in the diaspora including Guyanese; it was an idea conceived by Guyanese Dharamdatt Durjan Sukhai and Ramesh Kalicharran among others at a luncheon our group organized for former PM Atal Beharry Vajpayee who was Opposition Leader at the time. Besides elected leaders, several Guyanese and other girmityas in the diaspora worthy of the honor. President Ali should extend an invitation to Modi to visit our country. Trinidad and Suriname should do likewise because they are also beneficiaries of Modi and India’s kindness and generosity and recipients of huge developmental assistance.