SVG Governor-General hails India as 'friendly' nation, calls bilateral ties 'significant'

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Governor-General Susan Dougan said on Friday that India is a “friendly” nation and is willing to cooperate with their Caribbean nation. In an interview with ANI, SVG Governor-General said, “India is friendly and willing to cooperate with us as a nation and we are very fortunate to be one of the nations." While referring to President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to SVG, Dougan said that his trip was significant and he visited the nation far away from India. 

Additionally, SVG Governor-General, who met with the President on Thursday, said that he is a warm and gentle person and it takes only a few minutes for people around him to see that aspect of his personality. Weighing in on the aspect of elevating India-SVG bilateral ties, Dougan said, “We are hoping to have a market in India… bilateral relations between us are significant.” She also recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the 76th UN General Assembly session where he called on using only ocean resources and not abusing them.

Dougan said that she agreed with Prime Minister Modi wholeheartedly and further noted that the water resources are decreasing due to the pollution and plastic which is thrown into the rivers.

Dougan on naming Calder road as ‘India Drive-Bharat Marg’ 

Dougan told ANI that naming the Calder road as ‘India Drive-Bharat Marg’ is not only significant but also close to her heart. She said, “My great-great-grandparents are from Madras, India. Growing up, I’ve been very close to the Indian community. To name the Calder road, ‘India Drive-Bharat Marg’ is significant as it means a lot to our people. That is very close to my heart."

Referring to Indian visitors to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dougan said, “We’ve seen quite a number of Indian professionals visiting our shores as our government has made it easy for them to stay. Some of them have lived here for over 30yrs and made a significant contribution not only in the profession but also to the economy.” 

Earlier on Thursday, President Kovind met Dougan along with SVG Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves. According to President’s office, the leaders of both countries “discussed strengthening cooperation in  the fields of Information Technology, health, education, tourism & culture and in the multilateral fora.”

Image: @rashtrapatibhvn