Remarks of EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar at handing over of agro-processing facility in South Trinidad (May 09, 2026)

Hon'ble Prime Minister,

Ministers Ravi Ratiram, Barry Padarath, Saddam Hosein, Sean Sobers, other Ministers present,

High Commissioner, Members of Parliament, Colleagues, Officials of NAMDEVCO Friends,

Ladies and Gentlemen

1. I am really glad today to be at the opening of this agro-processing plant at Couva today. I thank Minister Ratiram and your team for organizing this event and in a sense bringing me here.

2. Let me give you some sense of the genesis of this partnership between us in respect of this particular project. Among the defining characteristics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies in the last 12 years as Prime Minister, two of them stand out. One, a deep commitment to farmers' welfare and other, a dedication to promoting the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises. And today, what we have are those two strands coming together. And they come together, in a distant land in a way, a very close country in another, but they come together because as a Foreign Ministry, we support development partnership programs abroad. And Prime Minister Modi's constant advice to us is - do abroad what you have proven at home, what you are good at doing at home. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is actually at the heart, at the genesis of this particular project. The idea was conceived initially in 2023 in general terms at the CARICOM Foreign Ministers' meeting. And what we had in mind was this recognition that an SME project, a Small and Medium Enterprises Project which was focused on farming, would provide livelihood to tens of thousands of people in our partner country. . And their role in the economy, their contribution to society, the centrality, the salience they have for the social fabric of any country, that cannot be overstated.

3. So, accordingly, we sent a technical team to Trinidad and Tobago and prepare a Detailed Project Report - that's our Standard Operating Procedure. And we had the very good fortune of Prime Minister visiting Trinidad and Tobago last year, maybe it wasn't good fortune Prime Minister, maybe it was you. But he came here, it was really fitting to me that he had the opportunity during that visit to hand over the machinery and what we had following up on that, is a team from NABARD Consultancy Services (NABCONS) and the supplier agency come here for the commissioning of the plant.

4. Now, I am very confident that this project would help NAMDEVCO to source agro-commodities in bulk from farmers, process them, store them for supplying locally, but equally important, for promoting your exports. That way, what we will see is farmers getting better prices, what we will see is the consumer getting better products, and not least, what we will see is the economy, the market flourish.

5. Now, as I stand before this project today in your presence, Prime Minister, and your colleagues, I want to share some thoughts about a particular institution, a practice that we have built up in India. It's called the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). They are today delivering products to every household and are playing a very vital role in increasing farmers' incomes and in creating employment among youth. These FPOs help farmers to take their produce to the market and do it on scale and promote food processing sectors, thereby doing a value add to what the farmers normally do.

6. Since 2014, when Prime Minister Modi first assumed office as Prime Minister, our Government has established more than 10,000 such entities across India. And the strength of these FPOs can be gauged from the fact that there are 15,000 products available on online platforms ranging from basmati rice, and saffron, and walnuts from Kashmir; to jams and apple juice from Himachal Pradesh; to millet cookies from Rajasthan; soya nuggets from Madhya Pradesh; makhana or foxnut from Bihar; peanut and jaggery from Maharashtra; and banana chips and coconut oil from Kerala, and I have left out a few other products.

7. So, I emphasize this point, because I want to drive home, the real potential of such projects. And it is, of course, our sincere hope that once this gets off ground, there is room for many more to come. In India, there is a tradition of cooperatives providing self help among agricultural communities, not only serving farmers but also the dairy sector. In fact, Cooperatives in a way have become a movement to enable people, to access resources, to secure livelihoods and to participate fully in the economy. This year, I should tell you, marks the International Year of Cooperatives, and for us, it is also very fitting that we have a project with a close Partner Country, very special Partner Country like yours on that anniversary.

8. So let me conclude by conveying my best wishes and those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for productive operation of this plant. We would be glad to continue to remain in touch, if there is Minister, any need for further training or additional capacity building in relationship to this project, we would always be open.

9. Once again, Prime Minister, I thank you for the opportunity to be present at the opening of this plant in your very gracious presence, to you Minister, for making it happen, in record speed, allowing me to come back in less than a year of Prime Minister Modi's visit, and to all of you, today to join in an event which we, I think, all recognize as an important milestone in the self-reliance and the export capacity and in the farmers' welfare of this wonderful country.

Thank You very much!

Port of Spain
May 09, 2026