Indian High Commissioner Meets with PM Browne

Antigua and Barbuda: The High Commissioner of India, KJ Srinivasa has paid an official visit to Antigua and Barbuda and held a meeting this morning with PM Gaston Browne shortly before the Prime Minister left for Parliament. The Indian diplomat, who is based in Guyana and accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, congratulated PM Browne on his government’s implementation of a vaccine mandate in order to fight Covid-19 and to protect the health of the population.

Srinivasa explained that India had already administered over 826 million vaccine doses and was engaged in a serious community outreach to ensure that India can reach herd immunity.

[caption id="attachment_37794" align="aligncenter" width="209"] Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Indian High Commissioner KJ Srinivasa[/caption] High Commissioner Srinivasa outlined to PM Browne some of the collaborative initiatives available to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, including a loan of US$20 million on generous terms devoted to energy projects. He also sought the support of Antigua and Barbuda at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a proposal put forward by India and South Africa which seeks to obtain a waiver on vaccine patents so that developing countries can ramp up production to alleviate the worldwide vaccine shortage. PM Browne assured the ambassador that his government was in support of this initiative.

The Indian High Commissioner reminded PM Browne of the short-term IT scholarships available to students in Antigua and Barbuda, as well as other academic initiatives based on cooperation between India and the UWI Five Islands campus that his mission was working on with the UWI authorities.

The ongoing matter of Mr Choksi was also raised and PM Browne informed the high commissioner that it was the position of his government was that the matter was before the courts and that the Government wanted extradition to take place as quickly as possible.

The meeting ended after a short period to allow PM Browne to attend the session of Parliament, while High Commissioner Srinivasa proceeded to attend meetings with other senior Government officials.