CARICOM and India want to further expand their cooperation in areas such as digital development, food security, renewable energy, healthcare and maritime security. This emerged during the seventh CARICOM-India Meeting of Foreign Ministers, held on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Minister Melvin Bouva of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation chaired the meeting as chair of CARICOM’s Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR). According to the ministry, he stressed the importance of further deepening relations between the Caribbean region and India.
Bouva pointed to shared principles such as democracy, multilateral cooperation and respect for a rules-based international order. He also expressed appreciation for India’s engagement with the region and for regular high-level political consultations.
Various international issues were discussed during the consultations. CARICOM and India spoke, among other things, about climate change, food and energy security, disaster resilience, terrorism and transnational organised crime. According to both parties, stronger international cooperation is needed to address these challenges.
An important part of the consultations was the Framework for Monitoring CARICOM-India Technical Cooperation 2025-2030. This framework is intended to guide concrete cooperation projects in the areas of capacity building, agriculture, food security, renewable energy, innovation, technology, maritime security, the blue economy and healthcare.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar pointed to the progress that, according to India, has been made since the second India-CARICOM summit. He mentioned existing cooperation programmes in healthcare, training and capacity building, renewable energy and digital development.
India has indicated that it is prepared to further expand this cooperation. This includes consideration of digital transformation, e-governance, climate resilience and sustainable economic development. CARICOM sees opportunities to make use of Indian knowledge and experience in these areas.
International candidacies were also discussed during the meeting. CARICOM confirmed its support for Guyanese diplomat Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett as a candidate for the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations. The community also expressed support for India’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2028-2029 term.
According to Bouva, political dialogue between the two parties must ultimately be translated into concrete projects and results. According to him, the cooperation should contribute to sustainable development and economic opportunities for both the Caribbean region and India.
