Gandhinagar

India will provide a USD 60 million worth Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana for construction of a road project and a passenger ferry service to help the country tackle its transporation problem.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave the nod for LoC during bilateral talks with Guyana President Donald R Ramotar on the sidelines of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas event to which the latter has been invited as chief guest.

“In the meeting there were discussions on possibilities of India assisting Guyana and the Prime Minster has informed that for two major projects India will be providing a line of credit for approximately USD 60 million,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters.

The funds will be utilised for construction of East Coast Road Link project which will enhance road connectivity in Guyana and for passenger ferry service to help the country overcome its transportation problems.

The Prime Minister also announced ‘Visa on Arrival’ facility for citizens of the Republic of Guyana, which is home to a large number of people of Indian origin.

During the interaction, the Guyanese President showed keen interest in understanding India’s cooperative movement.

“Since sugarcane is one of Guyana’s important product, the President wanted to know about the facilities and the cooperative movement here. The PM has requested him to visit Valsad (Gujarat) where there is a very active cooperative sector focussed on sugarcane,” Akbaruddin said.

Modi also held talks with South Africa’s Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane where the two leaders discussed ways for greater economic cooperation between the two countries, majorly in sectors such as infrastructure and mining.

“They also discussed about the BRICS grouping in which India and South Africa are members. There was discussion on possibilities of activating the new development bank at an early stage,” Akbaruddin said.

New Development Bank (NDB) to be operated by its member countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa is to be headquartered in Shanghai.

Modi also held talks with Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius Showkatally Soodhun to explore possibilities for cooperation in civil and infrastructure sectors.

Soodhun invited the Prime Minster to visit Mauritius on its national day to be celebrated on March 12.

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