The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), the region’s foremost investment and trade promotion agency, has launched a brand-new publication in collaboration with Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank India). The publication, entitled “Enhancing India CARIFORUM Economic Relations and Prospects for Cooperation”, which explores trade opportunities between Caribbean countries and India was introduced to more than 400 attendees present at the Caribbean Investment Forum in Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean Export is committed to facilitating growth of the regional private sector through economic development and integration programming.  The Agency partnered with Exim Bank India to produce this study to unlock the investment and export opportunities for entrepreneurs on both sides. 

The study expands on the key features of India – CARIFORUM economic relations and explores the mutual benefits to be derived from trade. Notably it states that “India has potential to expand exports in product categories such as mineral fuels and oils, electronics, transport vehicles, cereals, optical instruments, meat and edible meat offal, and animal or vegetable fats and oils etc”.

Speaking at the Caribbean Investment Forum via video link, Mr. N Ramesh, Deputy Managing Director of India Exim Bank, opened Day 2 of the Caribbean Investment Forum with a speech centered on the publication’s areas of significance. Mr. Ramesh drew the audience’s attention to the fact that “for the Export-Import Bank of India, the Latin America and the Caribbean region has always been a region of focus, to promote and support two-way trade and investment” and that trade between India and the Caribbean region had seen robust growth, “from a meagre level of US$ 52.4 million in 2001, India and Caribbean trade was recorded at US$ 1.7 billion in 2021.” 

He went on to share “As a partner institution to promote economic development in LAC, India Exim Bank has set in place various activities and programs, which contribute to sharing India’s development experience through capacity building and skill transfer, trade, and infrastructure development.”

Caribbean Export’s Deputy Executive Director, Leo Naut, presented the publication to High Commission of India in Trinidad and Tobago’s Charge d’affaires Mr. Raju Sharma at the event.  Naut expressed that the joint research report was an important contribution to not only serve as a valuable reference for policy makers and academia but also for businesses to discover new opportunities for trade. 

The Caribbean’s investment opportunities were strategically spotlighted at the Caribbean Investment Forum, namely: AgTech, digital business including e- commerce, innovation, and technology; Green economy transition, and transport and logistics. In collaboration with Caribbean Export, the new study is part of India Exim Bank’s Working Paper Series which serves to enrich the knowledge of Indian exporters to improve India’s competitiveness overall.