Trinidad and Tobago India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday honored a foreign leader for the first time with the highest civilian honor of the Caribbean nation.
President Christine Carla Kangalu ordered Modi the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago at a ceremony at the President’s house near the Capital Port in Spain.
Modi was on a two -day visit to the double island country as he wants to shore up to New Delhi’s relations with Caribbean and Latin America.
The visit marked the Indian leader’s first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago – where more than a third of the population is from the Indian dynasty – he can do it in power a decade ago.
Modi said, “This honor is a symbol of deep and eternal friendship between our two countries.”
India wants to tighten long -term ties with Trinidad and Tobago
The relations between India and Trinidad and Tobago get their roots in 1845, when Indian workers first arrived to work on Chinese and Coco Plantation under British colonial rule, as slavery ended.
More than 140,000 workers settled in the Caribbean nation between 1845 and 1917.
Modi said on X, “India and Trinidad and Tobago picked up our destiny of colonial rule to write our destiny. Our nation is long in the modern world as pillars of glorious democracy and strength.”
Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago focus on promoting investment in energy, health, safety and other areas
Trinidadian Prime Minister Kamala Persad-Bisasar announced several investments in the medical, energy and technical infrastructure promised by his Indian counterpart.
“This journey is more than diplomacy. It is a symbol of a new dawn,” she said.
“India, and Trinidad and Tobago, will now serve as strategic partners,” said Persed-Bisser.
Modi announced that the sixth generation of Indian -origin hospitals in the Dual Island nation would be eligible to receive India’s foreign national (OCI) card, allowing the subject to live and work in India independently.
The Indian Prime Minister is currently on a five-nation diplomatic tour covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia.
He landed in Argentina late on Friday and is about to interact with President Xavier Milli.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru