Annual Report 2011 - 2012

Annual Report 2011 - 2012
Jamaica
Secretary (West), Shri Vivek Katju, led the Indian delegation
for the Fourth Round of India-Jamaica Foreign Ministry
Consultations (FOC) with Ambassador Ms. Evadne Coye,
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Trade of Jamaica on 13 July, 2011 in Kingston. Both
sides reviewed bilateral relations and exchanged views on
regional and multilateral issues. During the visit, Secretary
(West) called on Foreign Minister of Jamaica, Dr Kenneth
Baugh. Shri Amarnath Pradhan, Member of Parliament,
Lok Sabha, visited Jamaica to participate in a workshop on
the role of Parliamentarians in Constituency Development
Fund from 6-9 June, 2011. An 11-member Manipuri dance
group participated in the celebrations of the 150th Birth
Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore in December 2011.
St Vincent and Grenadines
On June 1, the Indian Heritage Foundation of St. Vincent
and Grenadines organised various cultural events to mark
the 150th year of Indian arrival in St. Vincent and
Grenadines. ICCR sponsored the visit of a 14-member Bihu
Assam dance troupe to perform at this event. India donated
US$ 100,000 to the Government of St. Vincent and
Grenadines as Cash Assistance in the wake of damage caused
by flash floods and landslides.
Trinidad and Tobago
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), Ms
Kamla Persad Bissessar, paid a State Visit to India from 5-14
January, 2012 accompanied by high-level ministerial, official
and business delegation. Prime Minister Bissessar was also
the Chief Guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) on 7-
9 January, 2012 in Jaipur where President, Smt. Pratibha
Devisingh Patil, conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
Award on her in recognition of her contribution to
strengthening diasporic links. Prime Minister Bissessar, in
addition to Delhi and Jaipur, also visited Jodhpur, Kolkata,
her ancestral village Bhelupur in Buxar and Mumbai. She
called on the President, the Vice-President and the External
Affairs Minister. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a
dialogue with Prime Minister Bissessar and covered a wide
gamut of our bilateral relations. Dr Singh announced an
increase in the annual ITEC slots to Trinidad and Tobago
from 30 to 50. Five Agreements/MoUs were signed during
100
the visit: Cooperation in traditional medicine; setting up of
a Chair in Ayurveda in the University of West Indies; bilateral
Air Services Agreement; CEP and Technical Cooperation
Agreement in the field of Education.
Earlier, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs and Civil
Aviation, Shri Vayalar Ravi, visited Trinidad and Tobago
from 29 May-1 June, 2011; Secretary (West), Shri Vivek
Katju, called on Dr Surujrattan Rambachan, Foreign
Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, during a brief stopover in
Port of Spain on 14 July, 2011. Secretary (DARE), Dr S
Ayyappan led a two-member delegation to T&T on 17
October, 2011 where an MoU and a work-plan to facilitate
exchange of experts on rice, coconut and citrus fruits was
signed with T&T. Secretary(AYUSH), Shri Anil Kumar, led
a three-member delegation from the Department of AYUSH
to T&T on 2-6 November, 2011 and participated in a twoday
Seminar and workshop-cum-exhibition on Ayurveda at
the Divali Nagar on 4-5 November.
The Foreign Minister of T&T, Dr Surujratan Rambachan,
paid an official visit to India and co-chaired the First India-
T&T Joint Commission Meeting along with the External
Affairs Minister on 28-29 November, 2011. Both sides
reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Mr Winston
Dookeran, Minister of Finance of T&T, visited India on 6-
16 December, 2011 and attended the 4th International Tax
Dialogue (ITD) Global Conference on Tax and Inequalities.
He also met with the Finance Minister.
The ICCR sponsored several cultural troupes during the
year. These were: 15-member Bhangra and Giddah dance
group in May-June 2011; a 14-member group of Goenchim
Noketram dancers, a folk and music group from Goa in
August 2011; an eight-member Qawwali group in October
2011; an 11-member Manipuri Martial Art/Dance group
led by renowned Manipuri dance exponent, Ms Priti Patel,
in November 2011.
CARICOM (Caribbean Community)
An MoU between CARDI (Caribbean Agricultural Research
and Development Institute) and ICAR (Indian Council for
Agricultural Research) was signed by DG, ICAR, Dr
Ayyappan, and Executive Director, CARDI, Dr Arlington
Chesney on 14 October, 2011.