Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist September 2019 | Page 12

SPECIAL REPORT
popular tourist destination is bound to be fruitful. Investments
in popular Indian style Ayurveda/ Yoga / Wellness centres in
these hotels could really to cater to the rising demand for such
services. Instructors can train local practitioners, which will,
in turn, make these centres acceptable.
Investments: India’s foreign direct investment to the
Caribbean is also generally on the rise though it has seen a
moderate decline between 2011 and 2017. However, that is
mostly due to the fall in FDI to British Virgin and Cayman
islands, associate members of CARICOM. Of the total
investments to Latin America and the Caribbean, 70 percent
had gone to the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman
Islands alone in 2011, (ECLAC 2011, 44). From April 2011
to November 2017, 46% of the Indian investments went to
British Virgin Islands accounting for the largest share among
the LAC countries. The total investments between April 2011
to November 2017 in the Bahamas mostly in the construction
sector was about US$ 163 million. In the same period, India
invested a total amount of about US$ 17.6 million mostly in
agriculture and mining in Guyana (Exim Bank of India, 2018,
13). Thus, there is also a change in the sectoral composition
of these investments which have shifted towards agriculture
and mining.
For India, the Caribbean is strategically located for entry
into the Latin American market. That is an added advantage
that India should not forego.
Financial and technical assistance: India signed a
contribution agreement with the CARICOM Development
Fund (CDF) in January 2019, about ten years after its
creation in 2008. India has agreed to grant US$ one million
to the CDF’s capital fund. This makes India a development
partner of CARICOM. CDF’s directive is to give financial
and technical assistance to countries or sectors within the
Caribbean Community in areas such as the development of
renewable energy or increasing energy efficiency; providing
physical infrastructure to encourage investments and trade;
encouraging small and medium enterprises and developing
human resources. India had put in a donation of US $ five
million to help Haiti reconstruct itself after the disastrous
earthquake of 2010.
In software and information technology, the Indian
Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC)
is one of the prongs of the Development Partnership
Administration established in 2012 in the Ministry of
External Affairs, India. Government of India put in US$ 1.166
million worth of information technology and communication
infrastructure and computer software at the CARICOM
Secretariat in 2005-2006. A few slots for ITEC courses are
reserved annually for the CARICOM members. India can also
assist in increasing offshore medical centres, pharmaceutical
manufacturing, including the supply of anti-retroviral drugs
for fighting HIV/AIDS.
Having the advantage of a sizeable Indian diasporic
community in the region along with the natural
complementarities of products for trade with the region,
this is the right time for closer cooperation and exploring
further avenues for interaction for India—both bilateral and
multilateral—based on multiple areas of mutual interests and
concerns with the CARICOM countries. n
References:
Export-Import Bank of India, Indian Investments in Latin
America and Caribbean: Trends and Prospects, Working
Paper No. 75, March 2018.
Export-Import Bank of India, Caribbean Community
(CARICOM): A Study Of India’s Trade and Investment
Potential, Occasional Paper No. 144, January 2011.
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Indian
Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, URL
website: https://www.itecgoi.in/index.php. Accessed on 31
August 2019.
Singh, Priti and Raymond Izarali, The Contemporary
Caribbean: Issues and Challenges (New Delhi: Shipra
Publications, 2013).
* Author is Chairperson & Associate Professor, Centre
for Canadian, US & Latin American Studies, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi.
12 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida