Jamaican PM Set To Visit New Delhi On Sept 30 To Strengthen Ties With India

Prime Minister of Jamaica Dr Andrew Holness is scheduled to make his inaugural official visit to India from September 30 to October 3. This marks the first bilateral visit by a Jamaican Prime Minister to India. Previously, Prime Ministers Modi and Holness have met multiple times during various multilateral gatherings.

New Delhi:Prime Minister of Jamaica Dr Andrew Holness is all set to pay an official visit to India from September 30 to October 3. This will be his first visit to India and also the first-ever bilateral visit of a Prime Minister of Jamaica to India. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Holness met several times on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.

During the visit, Prime Minister Holness will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and call on the President and Vice-President. The visit will also provide an opportunity for Prime Minister Holness to meet with other dignitaries and interact with trade and industry.

Several MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit giving a fillip to bilateral cooperation. India and Jamaica share strong historical and cultural linkages, reflected in their shared colonial past, values of democracy and freedom, and passion for cricket. This visit is expected to bolster bilateral relations, enhance economic cooperation, and solidify the longstanding bonds between Jamaica and India.

India and Jamaica have traditionally enjoyed cordial and friendly relations based on common linkages of history, parliamentary democracy, membership in the Commonwealth, as well as love of cricket. Jamaica is one of the Girmitya countries with a 70,000-strong Indian diaspora, which acts as a living bridge between India and Jamaica.

India was one of the first countries to recognise Jamaica after it became an independent nation. Diplomatic relations between India and Jamaica were established on August 12, 1962. Following the visit of PM Indira Gandhi to Jamaica (1975), a Resident Mission was established in Kingston in 1976. A Resident Mission of Jamaica in India started functioning in 2020.

India and Jamaica share similar concerns of developing countries of the Global South, including food, health, energy security and climate change and disaster resilience. Convergence of views and consistent cooperation in various multilateral fora are major factors which reinforce India-Jamaica relations.

High-Level exchanges

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness met several times on the sidelines of multilateral fora in 2018. PM Modi had brief meetings with PM Holness on the margins of CHOGM in April 2018 in London at the BRICS Summit in South Africa in July 2018 and at the G-20 Summit in Argentina on December 2, 2018. On July 4, 2019, PM Holness called PM Modi over the telephone and congratulated him on his victory in the general elections.

In September 2019, PM Holness participated in the first-ever meeting between PM Modi and CARICOM leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting. He was also one of the select speakers during the special event organised by India at UN Headquarters on September 25, 2019, to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. On November 2, 2021, PM Holness participated in the launch of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow. In November 2023, PM Holness also participated in the Concluding Leader’s Session of the Second Voice of the Global South Summit via video conference.

On the occasion of 60 years of establishment of India Jamaica bilateral relations, President Ram Nath Kovind visited Jamaica from May 15-18, 2022. This historic visit was the first ever by the President of India to Jamaica. The President inaugurated Dr B. R. Ambedkar Avenue, named after the architect of India’s Constitution, in downtown Kingston.

The President also inaugurated the India-Jamaica Friendship Garden at the Hope Garden during the visit. The visit further strengthened the existing cordial bilateral relationship between the two countries. There have also been ministerial-level visits and interactions between the two countries.

Senator Kamina Smith Johnson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Trade and Minister of Education Fayval Williams participated in the EAM Ministerial and Education Ministerial Sessions in the third Voice of Global South Summit hosted by India on August 17, 2024 and November 2023, Senator Hon Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce joined the Trade Ministers’ virtual summit of Second Voice of Global South Summit.

On 21 April 2023, EAM met with Senator Kamina Johnson on the sideline of the COFCOR held in Georgetown. In January 2023, Senator Johnson participated in the Virtual Global South Conference hosted by EAM. Senator Johnson Smith met with EAM during the CHOGM in Kigali in June 2022. She has earlier visited India from October 9-12, 2017, the first ever official visit by any Jamaican Foreign Minister to India. She also met with EAM on September 27, 2024, during the India-CARICOM Foreign Ministerial on the margins of UNGA in New York.

The Foreign Office Consultation (FOC) is an existing dialogue mechanism between India and Jamaica, and the fifth and latest meeting of the FOC was held in October 2017 in New Delhi.

MoUs/Agreements

Key MoUs and agreements that have been signed between India and Jamaica and their institutions have strengthened bilateral relationship in areas of Culture Exchange (1996), cooperation in Food Research and Technology (2010), establishment of a Chair on Indology/Gandhian Studies between the University of the West Indies (UWI) and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), Cooperation in Civil Aviation (2016), Broadcasting content sharing (2021).

Most recently, during the visit of the President on May 16, 2022, a MoU was signed between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Studies of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica.

Trade, Economic and Development Cooperation

There has been a steady growth in bilateral trade as well as economic and commercial interactions despite the constraint of distance and Jamaica’s preferential trade arrangements with 3rd country / regional partners. Bilateral trade has experienced significant growth over the past decade, increasing from USD 28.28 million in 2011-12 to 116.73 million in 2023-24. The trade-in 2023-24 grew 26% compared to the previous year. A few Indian BPO companies are estimated to have generated around 5000 jobs for locals in Jamaica.

A rural development project in Kitson Town is being implemented through the FAO with the US$ 1 million grant announced by PM Modi during the 1st India-CARICOM Summit in New York in 2019. The two-year project started its implementation on April 30, 2023.

In March 2021, a gift of 50,000 doses of the ‘Made in India’ COVID-19 vaccine was allocated to Jamaica under the ‘Vaccine Maitri’ initiative of the Indian government. India has also donated Flood Lights for Sabina Park Stadium earlier, as well as donated 100 cricket kits to the Jamaica Cricket Association during the visit of the President in May 2022.

Development Cooperation

Training and capacity building are the main pillars of bilateral relations and over the years more than 360 Jamaican nationals have been trained in various institutions in India under the ITEC programme. An MoU for setting up an ICCR Chair of Indology/Gandhian studies was signed in 2012 between ICCR and the University of West Indies, further renewed in 2022. Under this, a professor from India has been deputed by ICCR to teach philosophy at the University of West Indies.

Jamaica has signed and ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and is now a full-fledged member. A group of more than 40 Jamaicans underwent an online training programme organised by ISA in December 2020. Jamaica has also joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

People-to-People Contact and Cultural Linkages

In Jamaica, there is keen interest in India’s culture, religion, performing arts and philosophy. Jamaicans strongly relate their colourful festivities to the folkloric traditions and celebrations of India. Popular festivals like Holi, Diwali, Onam, Navratri, Garba and Durga Puja are celebrated with fanfare and with religious fervour.

Jamaica is home to an Indian diaspora of approximately 70,000, whose ancestors arrived as indentured labourers primarily between 1845 and 1917.

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 3% of Jamaica's population, is well integrated into Jamaican society and is fondly described as ‘genetically embedded and integrated.’ The Indian diaspora brought another group of Indian expatriates to work as office managers in their establishments.

There is also a small floating and expanding group of skilled Indian professionals such as doctors (including many attached to government hospitals), and professors (some of whom are teaching at the University of West Indies, Kingston).

There is also a sizable Indian community in Jamaica engaged in various business activities, primarily in the pharmaceuticals, jewellery and diamonds, ICT, medical and health, and construction sectors. Currently, approximately 5,000 Indian passport holders are residing in Jamaica.

Indian passport holders are granted visa-free entry into Jamaica, allowing for a stay of up to 90 days.

Since COVID-19, a total of 35 free medical camps and one blood donation drive have been conducted by the High Commission of India so far with the continued support of Indian Doctors and Pharmaceutical companies generating overwhelming goodwill among the common people and the Government.