India Signs Six Strategic MoUs with Trinidad & Tobago to Boost Pharma, Education, and Diaspora Ties.
MOUs and Agreement
During his first bilateral visit to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999, Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar in Port of Spain on July 5, 2025. The agreements aim to reinforce cooperation in infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, culture, sports, diplomatic training, and education, marking a strategic deepening of ties between the two nations.
- One of the MoUs focuses on the Indian Pharmacopoeia, designed to streamline access to Indian-made medicines in Trinidad and Tobago, while another provides an Indian grant for Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) in key development areas.
- . Additionally, cooperation pacts were established in sports, diplomatic training, and the re-establishment of two ICCR Chairs in Hindi and Indian Studies at the University of the West Indies, alongside a 2025–28 cultural exchange programme.
- PM Modi announced several developmental gifts: 2,000 laptops for students, ₹80 million (USD 1 million) worth of agro-processing machinery to NAMDEVCO, a prosthetic-limb camp for 800 individuals, along with the donation of 20 haemodialysis units and 2 sea ambulances.
Main Point :- (i) PM Modi also unveiled solar panels for the T&T Foreign & CARICOM Affairs Ministry headquarters and launched the ‘Heal in India’ medical programme for citizens of Trinidad & Tobago.
(ii) A landmark political development announced during the visit was the extension of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) eligibility to the sixth generation of the Indian diaspora in Trinidad & Tobago (previously up to the fourth generation), enhancing the rights of approximately 40% of its 1.4 million population, who trace their roots to India.
(iii) Both leaders reaffirmed cooperation in global policymaking, with Trinidad & Tobago pledging support for India’s bid for a permanent UN Security Council seat, and India backing T&T's 2027–28 non-permanent seat aspirations. Collaboration was also pledged in energy, digital governance (including adoption of UPI, Aadhaar, DigiLocker), healthcare, and agriculture, solidifying an enhanced Global South partnership.
About Trinidad & Tobago
Capital: Port of Spain
President: Christine Kangaloo
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