India discusses agricultural issues with Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar held bilateral meetings with agriculture ministers of various countries who participated in the Global Millets (Shree Anna) conference to further strengthen India’s agricultural ties with them. An MoU was also signed with the World Food Programme of the United Nations. The International Year of Millets is being celebrated so that the Indian Shree Anna, its recipes and value-added products are accepted globally as a people’s movement.
India-Guyana complement each-other
India and Guyana discussed various ways to strengthen the agricultural relations between both the countries. Expressing immense potential for cooperation in agriculture and agro-processing industries between India and Guyana, Tomar said that the two countries complement each other as Guyana has vast arable land and water availability and India has the technology, expertise and skilled manpower, which will mutually benefit both the countries.
MoU between India and Guyana
India is keen to share its expertise and experience in the development of agriculture and allied sectors in Guyana, for which an MoU is under finalisation. Tomar assured that Guyana’s request for deputation of two experts to ITEC from India for three years to support the Guyana Sugar Corporation management and revive the sugar estates and plants in Guyana would be considered at the earliest.
Hindi is spoken widely in Surinam
Tomar also held a meeting with Suriname’s Minister of Agriculture Parmanand Prahlad Sewdien. The minister said that both countries share close, warm and friendly relations, and strengthened by cultural and people-to-people contacts over 150 years. It is interesting to note here that Hindi is spoken on a large scale in Suriname.
Possibilities in trade & investment
India’s exports of agri-related goods to Suriname in 2021-22 was USD 4.34 million. There are more possibilities to increase trade and investment, especially in agro-food processing. Under India’s flagship programmes and development partnership, India is committed to provide technical assistance to Suriname as needed, contribute to capacity building and skill development of human resources. Shree Anna is the ideal solution to make countries self-reliant and reduce dependence on imported grains. India can start agricultural cooperation projects, if offered by Suriname, as well as depute agricultural scientists under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programs to conduct studies for the cultivation of Shree Anna in Suriname.
India-Zambia ties
In a meeting with the agriculture minister of Zambia Reuben Mtolo Phiri, Tomar said that India and Zambia have had cordial relations for a long time. Zambia is one of the few African countries that has benefited greatly from India’s development cooperation programme. India provides scholarships for various higher education courses and ITEC training slots as well as special capacity building programs under the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) along with Exim Bank credit, Railway Wagons, Flood Relief Grant and Line of Credit.
India invests heavily in Zambia
Zambia, with its rich natural resources, has become an important destination for Indian investments in various sectors. India is one of the leading investors in Zambia with committed investments of over US$ 5 billion. Bilateral trade between India and Zambia has been growing steadily. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in India for trade and investment with Zambia, but again logistics and the small size of Zambia’s economy remain the main constraints and limiting factors.
With Mauritius & Sri Lanka
Tomar also held a discussion with Mauritius’ Minister for agri-industry and food security Manish Gobin. He also discussed agricultural issues with Mahinda Amaraweera- Agriculture Minister of Sri Lanka. Both sides have very similar priorities for taking this sector forward. Thus cooperation between the two sides in the agriculture sector becomes natural. India has traditionally been one of Sri Lanka’s largest trading partners and Sri Lanka is one of India’s largest trading partners in SAARC.
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