Ruminations welcomes the Prime Minister of India to Guyana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the midst of a historic visit to Guyana. Indeed, Guyana is part of a three-country head-of-state visit by the Indian Prime Minister. He visited Nigeria on his first stop, is now in Guyana, and is also visiting Brazil for the G-20 Meeting. The visit to Guyana is a State Visit. During this State Visit, CARICOM heads of state are also convening in Guyana for a meeting on crime and security.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Guyana underlines the growing importance of Guyana on the world stage. President Irfaan Ali; Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the governing party; and their PPP government have masterly steered Guyana to become one of the most important developing countries in the world.
Even as a small country with less than one million people, Guyana has become a leader as we tackle multiple global existential problems. Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy and our contribution to the global effort to manage the mitigation imperative of global warming gases have garnered international accolades. Guyana is a leader in the global struggle for climate and environmental security. In this regard, Guyana is also now taking leadership with the launching, in 2025, of the global biodiversity alliance intended to help in the preservation of the global biodiversity stock, including forest and marine biodiversity. But Guyana is also a leader in food and nutrition security and energy security.
The visit to Guyana of Prime Minister Modi is not coincidental. India and its leaders are paying close attention to this country. While Guyana’s population is almost 40% people of Indian origin, India’s attention and desire for expanded friendship and cooperation have more to do with Guyana’s global importance. Our country might be small, but with astute leadership of President Irfaan Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana has propelled itself to be a player among the “big boys”. The days when some global heads-of-state might not have known where our country is located or who is our head-of-state are long gone. Guyana is now on everyone’s horizon.
The visit comes at a time when India, still a developing country, is also navigating its way around the world with its notion of being a world power, a superpower. India was among the biggest destinations for foreign aid before reforms started in 1991. It is now the world’s third-largest economy (in purchasing power parity terms). Its share of trade in the gross domestic product (GDP) rose from 8.5 per cent in 1965 to 49.4 per cent in 2022. The Indian diaspora has become a globally powerful force. One member of that powerful diaspora group, Rishi Sunak, became the British Prime Minister. Another one, in America, almost became the President of America. The Second Lady of America will now be a member of the Indian diaspora. The new President of America is likely to name several members of the Indian diaspora in powerful positions in America.
India’s emergence as a rising global power has caught the attention of the world. While, for most of the first two decades of the 21st century, most attention had been on China’s expanded influence, the United States’ struggle to sustain its world role, and wars in Europe and the Middle East; today, in addition to these sustained interests, the world has been forced to pay attention to India also.
But whereas most super-power nations or those with super-power ambitions seek domination, India’s ambition, in the words of its astute Foreign Affairs Minister, is “vishwa mitra”. Translated loosely, this means “universal friend”, or “a friend of everybody”. Prime Minister Modi and his cabinet have been actively promoting Global India as the “world’s friend”.
Guyana and CARICOM can benefit from India’s growing strength in digital technology and services, and its growing internal security capacity. As Prime Minister Modi visits Guyana and engages CARICOM heads, energy and security are paramount in their negotiation of a closer relationship between India and CARICOM. The heads of CARICOM and Guyana are not unaware that India has become a global powerhouse in the digital and financial sectors.
Before now, Guyana had been a beneficiary of affordable medicines from India, but CARICOM was more bound to the expensive medicines from Europe and North America. However, with Guyana and CARICOM’s push for world-class healthcare, India is of critical importance. With India’s reputation as the world’s pharmacy, our leaders are not unaware that achieving world-class health in far more difficult, unless our countries can access affordable medicines, vaccines, medical supplies and equipment. Ranking third globally in drug and pharmaceutical production by volume, India exports to approximately 200 countries and territories. The top five destinations for these exports are the USA, Belgium, South Africa, the UK, and Brazil. We must not also forget that 60% of the global vaccine utilisation comes with production in India. Why should CARICOM not follow Guyana’s lead in accessing more affordable medicines and medical supplies from India?
In 2023, India’s global export of medicines rose to a whopping US$27B, and with local supplies, it amounted to about US$100B in business. But there is similar whopping growth in biotechnology. In 2014, the biotechnology sector, including medical biotechnology, amounted to only about US$10B. Today, India’s biotechnology sector has grown to US$150B.
It is foolish for anyone to think that Guyana and CARICOM should not strengthen their friendship with India. Yet, we should also know that Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Guyana has self-interest implications. India’s growth places a great need for a reliable supply of energy. The three-state visits are all important oil states now. PM Modi has his eyes firmly set on Guyana’s oil. It is an opportunity for Guyana to extract more support from India. CARICOM must follow Guyana’s lead. It is an opportunity that Guyana has grabbed with open hands because of visionary leadership from President Irfaan Ali.
