VP Jagdeo discusses strengthening ties in petroleum, renewable energy with Indian counterpart

With the aim of further strengthening partnerships in a vast array of sectors, including petroleum, agriculture, renewable energy and capacity building, among others, Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo held extensive discussions with his Indian counterpart, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar.

The Guyanese VP is currently in India on an official visit from February 20 to 25, 2023 at the invitation of the Vice President of India. Jagdeo is accompanied by Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, and a high-level Government and business delegation from Guyana.
According to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs of India, following the meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, the two leaders acknowledged the age-old strong bilateral ties between their countries, and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen India-Guyana relations.
“The two leaders appreciated the close and cordial relations shared by India and Guyana based on strong people-to-people ties, economic linkages, and commonalities of approach on multilateral issues. Both leaders agreed to continue to work on strengthening the bilateral partnership in various sectors, including petroleum and natural gas, agriculture, agro-processing, education, healthcare, capacity building, ICT, renewable energy, and climate change,” the missive detailed.
Earlier this week, VP Jagdeo met with the Minister of Agriculture in India, Narendra Singh Tomar, to discuss mutual areas of cooperation and other matters.
According to Minister Tomar, “Delighted to meet Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana [on Tuesday] and discussed many agriculture-related issues between the two countries. This meeting will further strengthen the agricultural trade between the two countries.”
Also on Tuesday, the Guyanese Vice President met with Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who said he is pleased with the efforts to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and development partnership between Guyana and India.
“Delighted to meet Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana, during his India visit. Discussed our historical relationship and greater opportunities in contemporary partnership, especially in trade, energy, agriculture, skills, and people-to-people ties,” Minister Jaishankar said after their engagement.
The Ministry further disclosed in the statement that Vice President Jagdeo is expected to call on the President of India, Her Excellency Shrimati Droupadi Murmu, today. He will also call on India’s Ministers of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Housing and Urban Affairs.
As part of his visit to India, VP Jagdeo is also participating in the World Sustainable Development Summit being held by TERI (The Energy Research Institute) in New Delhi from February 22 to 24.
He spoke at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, where he sounded a call for more global financial pledges to climate change initiatives being undertaken especially by small developing countries such as those in the Caribbean region, which need funding in order to achieve sustainable development.
“Many developing countries will never achieve sustainable development goals unless they have the financing to do that…Now small countries do not need only climate finance, they need a reform of the global financial system for them to achieve sustainable development. We’re not talking about just sustainability of ecosystems for them, we’re talking about the sustainability of the country themselves and their future wellbeing…because right now it’s clear that we are not going to achieve any of the targets. We can’t mask this over, the pledges are too small to achieve the 1.5 or even two degrees raise above pre-industrial level,” the Guyanese VP posited during his address to the summit.
This visit by VP Jagdeo follows President Dr Irfaan Ali’s official visit to India in January 2023 as the Chief Guest of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. According to the External Affairs Ministry, these high-level exchanges between India and Guyana reflect “new energy and momentum in bilateral relations.”
Coming out of President Ali’s visit to India, there are a number of areas and opportunities not only for Government-to-Government collaboration, but also Private Sector to Private Sector collaboration. Consequently, two working groups are expected to be set up between the two countries to coordinate the necessary follow-ups.
During a press conference on his return last month, the Guyanese Head of State explained that the establishment of these two working groups was jointly decided between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said this body would include the Private Sector from both countries.