Key Details
The 23 September 2026 India–CARICOM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting produced a clear diplomatic endorsement and reviewed a broader cooperation agenda.
Security Council candidature: The CARICOM co-chair conveyed the group’s decision to support India for the 2028–29 term. This is support for a future election, not an elected seat.
Development and economic ties: Both sides discussed trade and investment, agriculture and food security, digital governance, climate resilience and energy.
Global issues: Ministers agreed to continue cooperation on UN reform, climate change, counter-terrorism and transnational crime.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Suriname’s Foreign Minister Melvin W. J. Bouva co-chaired the meeting on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly. Representatives from across CARICOM and its Secretary-General, Carla Natalie Barnett, participated.
What Is CARICOM?
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has 15 full members: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It also has eight associate members. Belize is in Central America, while Guyana and Suriname are on the South American mainland; the grouping is not limited to islands.
A Collective Endorsement for India’s Candidature
CARICOM’s stated support is the meeting’s clearest new outcome. India is seeking a 2028–29 elected Security Council seat, which is distinct from its longer-standing call for reform of the Council. Both subjects arose at the meeting, but support for this candidature does not itself decide the election or the reform question.
Ministers Follow Up on the 2024 Summit
The meeting followed the second India–CARICOM Summit, held in Guyana in November 2024. Ministers reviewed cooperation and discussed stronger political and economic engagement, with agriculture, digital governance, climate resilience and energy among the priorities. CARICOM representatives acknowledged India’s development partnership in the region and its contribution to South–South cooperation.
These subjects are areas for continued work. The MEA account does not announce a new project, funding commitment or trade agreement from this meeting.
Policy Relevance
Diplomatically, CARICOM’s endorsement gives India a stated group position ahead of its Security Council candidature. Economically, the measure of progress will be whether the priorities discussed at the meeting lead to identifiable cooperation in trade, investment or development. The broad agenda signals mutual interest; it is not yet evidence of new delivery.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: Which priorities from the 2024 summit and this ministerial meeting will India and CARICOM take forward through specific projects or agreements?
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