India’s “not here for the quid pro quo” – outgoing Indian High Commissioner

…reiterates commitment to continuing India-Guyana partnership

With his four-year tenure as Indian High Commissioner to Guyana coming to a close, Dr. K.J Srinivasa reflected on his experience in Guyana and assured of continuously strengthening the bilateral partnership between the two countries.
At a farewell reception held in his honour on Wednesday, Dr. Srinivasa took note of the numerous joint ventures between the two countries over the years as they collectively address climate change, sustainable development, and inequality.
“We have embarked upon many joint ventures with the Guyanese Government and the people of Guyana, wherein our partnership ranges from promoting trade and commerce, investments, political engagements, and also addressing challenges and opportunities in various sectors,” Dr Srinivasa said.
“India has so far extended concessional lines of credit of over US$125 million for various projects for developing infrastructure –the stadium, the roads, the traffic lights, the pumps, the ocean-going ferry, the solar energy projects,” he added.
Depicting India’s continued commitment to aiding Guyana, Dr. Srinivasa also noted India’s efforts to provide vaccines needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of the cherished moments include being part of the Indian vaccine initiative of 2021, when India began the donation of life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to the Caricom region of over 800,000 vaccines in the first [stretch] and 80,000 for Guyana in particular, when the rest of the world was involved in vaccine nationalism,” Srinivasa said.
India has also provided a number of scholarship programmes and training courses to benefit Guyanese, with dozens of Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officers now being sent yearly for training in India.
“Our aim is to develop the technical capacity of Guyana so that the Guyanese can lead their developing story without having to depend on others,” Srinivasa said.
India and Guyana have also been privy to an exchange of visits between high level officials, with President Dr. Irfaan Ali and Vice-President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo visiting India on two separate occasions, and India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar returning the visit in April.
As Guyana enters a new era of development, Dr. Srinivasa signalled the continued growth of this bilateral partnership going forward.
Meanwhile, speaking at the farewell reception, Dr Jagdeo extended appreciation towards the High Commissioner, and reinforced the need for this collaboration with India, particularly in sectors including agriculture and infrastructure.
“I know in [Srinivasa’s] future endeavours he’s going to remain closely connected to Guyana and to the bilateral agenda that we have between our two countries. So, we take comfort in that, because he has great institutional knowledge of the burgeoning economic and social ties between our two countries that were given an impetus when the President visited India,” Jagdeo said.
He added that India’s approach can aid Guyana as the country continues its aggressive development agenda.
“We believe that countries like India, that don’t have a doctrinaire but a more practical approach to finding solutions for climate change, but at the same time allowing people to grow out of poverty and expand welfare,” Jagdeo said.
Dr Srinivasa is returning to India to fulfil duties under the External Affairs Ministry as the country prepares for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in September.
He held a final press briefing on Thursday, reiterating his cooperation with Guyana as they continue to progress.
“One thing stands: India’s partnership with Guyana shows that India doesn’t do things for something in return. We are not here for the quid pro quo. We regard Guyana as an equal partner in the… cooperation Initiative,” Srinivasa said.