PM Modi holds talks with his Jamaican counterpart, says India will train military of island nation

Modi made the remarks after holding wide-ranging talks with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

New Delhi: India and Jamaica on Tuesday inked four pacts including one on possible roll-out of Indian UPI payment systems in the island nation as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with his Jamaican counterpart Andrew Holness focusing on boosting ties in sectors like defence and energy.

In his media statement, Modi said India has always been a reliable partner in Jamaica's development journey and it is ready to share its expertise with that country in areas such as digital public infrastructure, small industries, biofuel, innovation, health, education and agriculture.

The prime minister said India will move forward in training and capacity building of the Jamaican military.

Modi said he and Holness also discussed regional and global issues and agreed that all tensions and disputes should be resolved through talks and both sides will continue to work towards ensuring global peace and security.

The prime minister's comments came amid growing tensions in West Asia and the conflict in Ukraine.

Modi said India-Jamaica partnership is characterised by the four Cs -- Culture, Cricket, Commonwealth, and CARICOM.

The CARICOM (Caribbean Community) is a grouping of 20 island nations which are home to approximately 16 million people.

"India and Jamaica may be separated by vast oceans, but our minds, our cultures and our histories are deeply intertwined," Modi said with Holness by his side.

The prime minister said the people who migrated from India to Jamaica nearly 180 years ago laid the strong foundations of people-to-people ties.

"Today, the nearly 70,000 people of Indian origin who call Jamaica home are a living example of our shared heritage," he said.

Holness arrived here on Monday. It is the first-ever bilateral visit of a prime minister of Jamaica to India.

The four pacts would provide for cooperation in areas of digital public infrastructure, cultural exchange and sports.

At a media briefing, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Jaideep Mazumdar said the Memorandum of Understanding between NPCI International Payments Ltd and Egov Jamaica will provide a platform to look at integrating India's UPI and Jamaica's existing digital payment system.

In a special gesture, India has named a road in the national capital as 'Jamaica Marg', which was inaugurated by Holness.

"In today's meeting, we discussed strengthening our cooperation across all sectors and identified several new initiatives. Trade and investment between India and Jamaica is growing," Modi said.

"India has always been a reliable and committed development partner in Jamaica's journey of development. All our efforts in this direction have been centred around the needs of the people of Jamaica," he said.

The prime minister identified organised crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism as common challenges of both the countries.

"We are ready to share our experience with Jamaica in areas like digital public infrastructure, small industries, biofuel, innovation, health, education, agriculture," he said.

"We will move forward in training and capacity building of the Jamaican military in the field of defence," he said, adding India would be pleased to share its successful experience in the space sector with Jamaica as well.

Modi said he and Holness also discussed several global and regional issues.

"We agree that all tensions and disputes should be resolved through dialogue. We will continue our efforts together to ensure global peace and stability," he said.

"India and Jamaica concur that it is imperative to reform all global institutions, including the United Nations Security Council. We will continue to work together to modernise these institutions," he added.

Modi also referred to cricketing connections between the two countries.

"As cricket loving nations, sports has been a very strong and important connecting link in our relations. Be it the legendary fast bowling of Courtney Walsh or the fiery batting of Chris Gayle, people of India have a special affection for Jamaican cricketers," he said.

"We also discussed deepening our cooperation in sports. I am confident that the outcomes from today's discussions will propel our relationship at a pace faster than Usain Bolt, allowing us to continually reach new heights," he said.

Gayle was present at the lunch hosted by Prime Minister Modi for the Jamaican leader and his delegation.

Holness also met President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

At the media briefing, Mazumdar said cricket did come up as a natural subject for discussion in all the meetings.