India, France hail 60 years of strong bilateral relations with Guyana

As Guyana celebrates its 60th Independence Anniversary, the occasion also marks the country’s establishment of diplomatic ties with several other nations, and two of those allies are looking to further deepen the 60 years of strong partnership.
In a video statement, India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, extended congratulations to Guyana on its milestone independence anniversary, which he noted also coincides with six decades of diplomatic relations between Guyana and India.

“This milestone celebrates not only Guyana’s journey as an independent nation but also the enduring friendship, shared democratic values, and the deep people-to-people bonds that unite our two nations,” the Indian Minister noted.
According to Dr Jaishankar, India has proudly stood with Guyana since its independence, and this partnership has only grown stronger with time. “Our two nations have long been bound by history and culture. Today, our cooperation spans a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, energy, defence, agriculture, education, infrastructure, space technology, fintech and capacity building.”
The Indian Minister noted that his Government is especially pleased that health care cooperation has emerged as a key pillar of this bilateral partnership.
Only on Tuesday, the world’s longest-distance robotic surgery was conducted between Guyana and India. The coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed by internationally renowned cardiac surgeon Dr Sudhir Srivastava, who operated the robotic surgical system remotely from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in Guyana on a patient in India. The telesurgery covered an estimated distance of approximately 20,000 kilometres via fibre optic cables, making it the longest-distance telesurgery ever conducted in the world to date.
“[This was] not only a robotic surgery…[but] the latest advances in technology in robotic surgeries. The absolutely latest technology, not the one from yesterday, the most current technology, some of which, most of which, is not even existing in the most developed medical environment, we have adopted in our robotics. We have leapfrogged to 2050 and beyond,” President Dr Irfaan Ali said at a press conference on Tuesday evening.
In addition to that long-distance surgery, two other procedures were also successfully done on patients at the GPHC using the robotic surgical system – Mantra Freedom 60, which Guyana has acquired from the India-based company SS Innovations International Inc, along with the full training module that would not only be used to train local medical professionals but also those in the wider Caribbean region as well.
This is just one of the many collaborations between the two countries within the healthcare sector. In fact, the Indian Foreign Minister committed to supporting Guyana’s efforts to expand access to affordable, high-quality medical services.
“It is a matter of satisfaction that India’s experiences in medical technology will also serve the people of Guyana,” Dr Jaishankar stated.
He went on to add that India will also support Guyana in strengthening its infrastructure as well as other broader industries.
“India is a reliable development partner across sectors such as infrastructure, fintech, defence, oil and gas, education and capacity building. And we look forward to deepening this cooperation in the years ahead.”
“As you move towards a brighter future, we wish Guyana continued peace, progress and prosperity. I am confident that the friendship between India and Guyana will continue to flourish and reach ever greater heights,” the Indian Foreign Minister asserted.

France’s message
Similarly, France has also noted that its bilateral relations with Guyana have marked 60 years along with the country’s independence anniversary.
In his congratulatory letter to President Ali, French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is particularly attached to its partnership with Guyana, especially in light of the many regional challenges they share on the Guyana Shield, where they work together in support of peace, cooperation, and respect for human rights.
South America’s French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France. In fact, President Macron welcomed the active participation of the French Armed Forces in the events organised to mark Guyana’s Independence celebrations in French Guiana.
According to the French leader, “The opening of our embassy in Georgetown on September 1, 2025 has helped to further strengthen the ties between our two countries, and I sincerely hope that we will soon be able to conclude the various draft agreements currently under negotiation in the fields of justice, security and defence.”
The opening of the French Embassy in Georgetown last year paved the way for the submission and processing of Schengen visa applications in Guyana – something that was long being pushed for. Previously, Guyanese wanting to obtain a Schengen visa would need to travel to neighbouring Suriname to complete the application process.
Only recently, French Ambassador to Guyana, Olivier Plançon, disclosed during an interview with the News Room that while the long-term goal is visa-free travel between the two countries and the wider European Union, the number of Schengen visas issued has doubled since the opening of the embassy here, moving from about 150 to now some 350.