Dr Gonsalves makes an official visit to India

Prime Minister Dr Hon Ralph Gonsalves left the country on Thursday September 5, 2019 on an official visit to the Republic of India that would see him spending 5 days in that country. Dr Gonsalves is making this visit to India, in response to two separate activities that he is expected to participate in over the period.On the morning of Monday September 9, 2019, Prime Minister Gonsalves will co-chair  the High-Level Roundtable discussion on Land, climate change and renewable energy, and later in the afternoon, will address the opening of the High-Level segment of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at its Conference of the Parties (COP) 14. He would also hold a number of bi-lateral meetings with groups and persons of interests including the United Nations Deputy Secretary General and the Deputy Prime Ministers of Finland and Samoa.The second part of Dr Gonsalves visit to India has him scheduled to meet with that country’s Prime Minister India Narendra Modi. The Indian Prime Minister had first issued the invitation to Dr Gonsalves back in 2016 at a bi-lateral meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, but conflicting schedules of both leaders made that visit impossible before now. Dr Gonsalves and Prime Minister Modi are expected to discuss a range of issues of interest to both countries intended to deepen cooperation and strengthen the working relationship our countries enjoy bi-laterally as well as multi-laterally.The Prime Minister is accompanied by a delegation that includes; Hon Luke Browne, Minister of Health, Wellness and Environment, His Excellency Cenio Lewis, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and non-resident High Commissioner to India, Mr Fitzgerald Providence, Chief Forestry Officer and Focal Point to the UNCCD and Mrs Cheryl Rodriguez, representing the local Indian Heritage Foundation. Prime Minster Gonsalves is expect to return to the state on Monday September 16, 2019.