International Events.qxd

BILATERAL
HIGH COMMISSIONER’S VISIT TO MONTSERRAT
High Commissioner seated with Minister of
Culture & Sports and an aide
H
igh Commissioner visited
Montserrat, a self-governing
UK overseas territory in the
Caribbean under the Mission’s concurrent
jurisdiction, from 5-8 December
2010. The most important part of the
visit was signing of the Letter of
Intent between the two governments
conveying their mutual intention to
augment bilateral cooperation through
signing of a MoU at a future date in
4 | YATRA | JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2011
HE and Mrs. Mishra and members of the
Media following the Press Conference
the areas of Technical Cooperation,
Culture, Agriculture, Small Business
Development, IT, Healthcare,
Seismology, Sports etc. CM himself
drove HC around upcoming project
sites in the island, particularly those in
the future capital township of Little
Bay. HC also met separately with
Minister of Education, Health, Youth
and Sports, Mr. Colin Riley and
Minister of Agriculture, Land,
Chief Minister of Montserrat Reuben T. Meade
signing the Letter of Intent
Housing and Environment, Mr. Joseph
Taylor-Farrel. Govt. of Montserrat
(GOM) is extremely keen on engaging
with India bilaterally and there is significant
scope for India’s engagement
in the development of the island, particularly
in the areas of SMEs, viz.
small manufacturing, agriculture, viz.
Green House farming, not to mention
the areas of IT, healthcare, culture and
sports. ❖
FARMERS’ MEET AT SANGRE GRANDE
High Commissioner addressing the farmers at the Toco community Centre
(on the right, Minister of Tourism, Rupert Griffith)
A
Farmers’ Meet was organized
on 4 December 2010 at Sangre
Grande, in eastern Trinidad, by
the T&T Tourism Minister, Hon’ble
Rupert Griffith, who is also a Member of
Parliament from the area. The High
Commission had earlier been requested
by the Minister to address and advise a
group of farmers in the area who would
like to know what India could offer in
terms of expertise in agriculture, and
agri-business. The Meet was organized at
the Sangre Grande Government
Secondary School premises where
approx. 100 farmers, members of agricultural
associations and officials from
the T&T Ministries of Agriculture and
Tourism had assembled. The Minister of
Tourism himself conducted the programme.
He welcomed the High
Commissioner and appreciated his support
for the agricultural community in his
View of the Gathering at the Toco Community Centre
constituency. High Commissioner in his
address talked of the big strides India has
made in the agricultural sector – from a
food-importing country at the time of
independence in 1947 to becoming not
only self-sufficient in food-grains but
also exporting food-grains and other
agricultural produce to a number of
needy countries in the world. He also
spelt out the possibilities of sharing
India’s vast expertise with the farmers in
The High Commission of India in Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain