The Prime Minister of Jamaica Dr. Andrew Holness will pay an official visit to India from 30 September – 3 October 2024 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This will be his first visit to India, and also the first ever bilateral visit of a Prime Minister of Jamaica to India. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Holness have met several times on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.
During the visit, Dr Holness will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Modi, call on President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, meet other dignitaries and interact with trade and industry leaders.,
a ministry of external affairs release said a number of MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit to step up bilateral cooperation.
India and Jamaica share a strong historical and cultural linkages, reflected in their shared colonial past, values of democracy and freedom, and passion for cricket.
This visit is expected to bolster bilateral relations, enhance economic cooperation, and further solidify the longstanding bonds between the two countries.
India and Jamaica have traditionally enjoyed cordial and friendly relations based on common linkages of history, parliamentary democracy, membership of the Commonwealth, as well as love of cricket, the release said.
Jamaica is one of the Girmitya countries (countries where indentured laborers from British India were transported to work on plantations) with a 70,000 strong Indian diaspora, who act as a living bridge between India and Jamaica.
India was one of the first countries to recognize Jamaica after it became an independent nation on August 6, 1962. Following the visit of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Jamaica in 1975, a resident Mission was established in Kingston in 1976. A Resident Mission of Jamaica in India started functioning in 2020, the MEA release said.
(1/4) At the invitation of The Prime Minister of India, I was honoured to speak at this morning’s High-Level-Event Launch of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States co-convened by Prime Minister of the UK the Honourable Boris Johnson, pic.twitter.com/OCNSkQZVEG
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) November 2, 2021
India and Jamaica share similar concerns of developing countries of the Global South, including on food, health, energy security and climate change and disaster resilience. Convergence of views and consistent cooperation in various multilateral fora are major factors which reinforce India-Jamaica relations.
Indian passport holders are granted visa-free entry into Jamaica, and allowed to stay up to 90 days.
