President Kovind arrives in Jamaica, received by Governor General, PM Andrew Holness

Kingston/New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Jamaica on a four-day state visit. He was received at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on Sunday afternoon by Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness. This is the first ever visit by an Indian Head of State to the Caribbean nation. The visit comes as Jamaica is celebrating 60 years of political independence and also marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between Jamaica and India. The President’s House, tweeted: “President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Kingston on his state visit to Jamaica. He is the first President of India to visit Jamaica. Sir Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica and PM Andrew Holness received President Kovind at the airport.” The President was accorded a guard of honour on his arrival. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a tweet said: “President Kovind @rashtrapatibhvn arrives to a warm welcome by Jamaican Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, PM @AndrewHolnessJM & Cabinet Ministers at Kingston airport. “This is the 1st-ever visit by an Indian President to Jamaica & marks 60 years of India-Jamaica diplomatic relations.” During the visit, the President will hold delegation level talks with his counterpart, the Governor General of Jamaica Sir Patrick Allen. He will also meet Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and other dignitaries. He will address a Joint Sitting of the two Houses of the Jamaican Parliament. Jamaica is also one of the Girmitya countries with a 70,000 strong Indian diaspora. This year also marks the 176th anniversary of the Indians in Jamaica. President Kovind will inaugurate the India Jamaica Friendship Garden by planting a sandalwood sapling and interact with a cross section of the Jamaican society. As part of the common love for cricket the President would hand over cricket kits for aspiring young cricketers to the president of the Jamaica Cricket Association. He would also pay respects to the memorial of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican born nationalist and leader of Pan African movement. Some MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit to Jamaica, which is the largest English-speaking island country in the Caribbean. “The bilateral relationship is based on common linkages, history, parliamentary democracy, membership of the Commonwealth, cricket,” said Secretary East Saurabh Kumar during a briefing on Friday. He also said that Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness shares a personal rapport with Prime Minister Modi and the two have met five times on the sidelines of multilateral events. Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica Rungsung Masakui, writing in The Gleaner, said: “India and Jamaica have shared stakes in shaping the emerging architecture of various multilateral institutions to address existing inequities and addressing major contemporary issues related to energy security, food security, climate change, and international terrorism, among others, in the spirit of South-South cooperation. The opening up of the resident diplomatic Mission of Jamaica in India has further strengthened the relationship. The COVID-19 pandemic brought out the best of our relationship. India thanks the Jamaican Government for taking good care of Indians in Jamaica during the crisis and facilitating their repatriation. For its part, India also chipped in by sharing COVID-19 vaccine doses and medical equipment with Jamaica to help it with containing Covid crises.