Visiting PM invites Trinis: Come to India

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi has issued a clarion call for the deepening of ties between his country and Trinidad and Tobago.

As part of his overture for more TT citizens to come to India and explore what his country has to offer, Modi announced his government will be offering the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card to members of the Indian diaspora in this country.

Modi made these statements in his address at a community diaspora event at the National Cycling Velodrome in Couva on July 3. Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who addressed the gathering before Modi, expressed similar desires for stronger TT-India ties.

Modi agreed with Persad-Bissessar's earlier comment that TT and India's ties were not merely diplomatic.

After saying the global Indian diaspora consists of 3.5 million people, Modi said TT is an important part of that diaspora.

"Today I am happy to announce that OCI cards will now be to the sixth generation of the Indian diaspora in Trinidad and Tobago."

Modi's announcement was greeted with applause from Persad-Bissessar and the rest of the audience which was fully comprised of specially invited guests vetted and approved by the Indian High Commission.

He said, "We are not just connected by blood or surname. You are connected by belonging." Modi added, "India welcomes you and India embraces you." The OCI card is the primary document that provides benefits for residing, working and travelling in India.

Holders of this card have benefits such as the ability to live, work and travel freely within India without needing a separate visa. But the card does not confer Indian citizenship on the holder.

OCI cardholders also do not have voting rights or the ability to hold certain government jobs in India.

Modi said India has the fastest growing economy in the world and predicted that soon it will be among the world's top three economies. As India progresses, he continued, it wants to share its opportunities with its international partners.

Modi said the people of TT are welcome to come to India and see what his country has to offer them.

"India has a lot to offer. Your ancestors took a long and difficult journey, over 100 days across the sea (in 1845) to reach here. Today that same journey takes just a few hours." Modi said, "I encourage you all to visit India more in-person, not just virtually on social media."

He told the gathering the Indian government is creating a database to help members of the Indian diaspora trace their roots in India. Modi said the ability of people from India to send money to TT has also improved over time.

The audience was amused that because of past initiatives taken by the government that service can reach people in TT "faster than West Indies bowling."

Modi praised Persad-Bissessar, President Christine Kangaloo, former prime minister Basdeo Panday and former West Indies cricketers Nicolas Pooran and Sunil Narine as some of the exemplary figures in TT's Indian diaspora.

He recalled his first visit to TT as a cultural ambassador in 2002. Modi said his love for this country has grown over time and he could not help but feel there was magic here.

He amused the audience by suggesting the magic was even in simple things like local East Indian cuisine.

"There must be something magical in the doubles and dhal puri (roti) because you have doubled the success of this great nation." Speaking off the cuff, the named several cities in India which the names of streets and communities in TT including Benares Street and Calcutta.

KAMLA: TT, INDIA BOUND BY UNITY

In her address, Persad-Bissessar said TT and India was bound by an ocean of unity.

"This is our legacy. This is our love," said the prime minister who was decked off in a royal blue sari. She praised Modi as a revolutionary leader who had placed India on the world stage like never before.

She said TT will be forever grateful to India for the critical assistance it gave during the pandemic by providing vaccines to this country and many others which could not access them.

She said this was why Modi will on July 4, be conferred with the nation's highest award, The Order of the Republic of TT (ORTT). This will happen during Modi's courtesy call on Kangaloo at President's House, St Ann's.

Afterwards, Modi is scheduled to deliver a formal address to a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate at the Red House.

He will conclude his visit with the exchange of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with Persad-Bissessar and a symbolic tree-planting ceremony at the Rotunda Gallery and St Vincent Street entrance of the Red House around noon.

Earlier on July 3, the Air India flight carrying Modi and his entourage arrived at the south terminal of the Piarco International Airport around 3.30 pm to a ceremony full of pomp and splendour befitting the visit of a foreign head of state.

Modi's entourage left the airport and drove along the Priority Bus Route into Port of Spain to the Hyatt Regency Hotel where they will be staying.

Modi's two-day visit to TT is part of a five nation tour which the Indian prime minister embarked upon on July 2. On that day, he left India to visit Ghana.

In his departure statement, Modi said Ghana is a valued partner to India in the Global South and plays an important role in the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.

The Global South broadly comprises Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea), and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).

Modi said was looking forward to exchanges aimed at further deepening historical ties and opening up new windows of cooperation in the areas of investment, energy, health, security, capacity building and development partnership.

He addressed the Ghanian parliament while he was in the African nation. He was in Ghana from July 2-3.

TT is the second stop on Modi's tour.

Modi said India shares a deep-rooted historical, cultural and people-to-people connection with TT. He added this visit will provide an opportunity to rejuvenate the special bonds of ancestry and kinship that unite India and TT.

Modi will next visit Argentina from July 4-5. This will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Argentina in 57 years.

Modi has highlighted Argentina as a key economic partner for India in Latin America and a close collaborator in the G20. He will hold discussions with Argentine President Javier Mile, which will focus on advancing a mutually beneficial cooperation, including in the areas of agriculture, critical minerals, energy, trade, tourism, technology, and investment.

Modi will next visit Brazil for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Summit in Rio de Janeiro from July 5-8.

Nambia is the final nation Modi will visit on July 9 before he returns home to India.