Trinidad and Tobago PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar praises PM Narendra Modi’s leadership

Port of Spain: Tobago and Trinidad Regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar hailed him as a “transformational force who has refined governance of India.” According to her, PM Modi’s forward-thinking and creative policies have modernized India’s economy.

On Thursday (local time), Bissessar spoke at an Indian community gathering in Trinidad and Tobago and praised the two countries’ connection, referring to it as “ties of ancestry, kinship, sacrifice, and love.”

“Good evening, Sita-Ram, and Namaste,” she said. We are honored to have someone close to us here with us this evening. As the prime minister of the Republic of India, the honorable Shri Narendra Modiji, and his delegation are making a historic state visit to Trinidad and Tobago, I am honored to join everyone in welcoming one of the most admired and respected visionary leaders in the world. This visit is not just a formality; it is a profound honor for us. We are all very inspired by your visit, Prime Minister Modi, especially the Indo-Trinidadian community, whose origins are rooted in the same fertile Indian soil from which you sprang.

“The signing of many agreements of cooperation between our two countries and a speech to a joint session of our parliament, which is scheduled for tomorrow, are among the many formal activities that include this unique communal diaspora event. Thus, we honor our people’s cherished family and cultural ties tonight. These connections bind us together in a common past and future, overcoming time and space.

Prime Minister Modi, you are a force for change who has improved India’s government and established your nation as a major and powerful force in the world. You have brought the Indian economy up to date with your innovative and forward-thinking projects. It’s not only your leadership, sir; it’s your respect for tradition that has united us this evening. You have empowered more than a billion people, and more importantly, you have inspired pride in the hearts of all Indians worldwide,” she said.

She brought up PM Modi’s previous trip to Trinidad and Tobago in 2002, when he wasn’t India’s prime minister. According to her, PM Modi came back to Trinidad and Tobago as a “distinguished and celebrated leader” with an international impact. The first ship to transport Indians to Trinidad in 1845 was the Fatel Razack, which she also highlighted.

“You weren’t prime minister when you came to our country for the first time,” she replied. However, as a cultural ambassador at the 2002 World Hindu Conference. Today, sir. You come back in charge of a government that has over 1.4 billion citizens. You come back as a renowned and acclaimed leader with an enduring impact. You have our respect, sir.

Your unwavering dedication to the Indian diaspora, advancing history, culture, and the spirit of our common journey, is what motivates this assembly the most. There are more than just diplomatic connections between Trinidad & Tobago and India. These are bonds of love, sacrifice, kinship, and ancestry. We are united by our shared history, struggles, and aspirations.

“The adventure that started 180 years ago in 1845 when Fatal Razak arrived on Nelson Island has developed into a tale of tenacity, change, and achievement. The only things those early Indian migrants left behind were their culture, language, and religion.

Today, we have reinvented that voyage. They crossed the Kalapani, the black waters that were traditionally thought to separate the holy from the spirit. We are now in the Panaanhan waters of oneness instead of Kalapani. We embrace an ocean of oneness and a lasting oceanic link between Trinidad and Tobago and India because we see water as a unifying force rather than a dividing factor. Despite being separated by seas, we here, Mother India’s grandchildren, are always bound together by unwavering love and respect,” she said.

The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago cited a poem by Prime Minister Modi from his book “Aankh aa dhanya che,” saying, “This union is best… in a poem, sir, that you once wrote, Shri Modiji.” Additionally, I’ll share a few of your poem’s words. Out in the back of my thoughts. Every face I see reveals a recollection as I go deep into the past. I have no trouble recalling things.

Every face was instantly recognizable. Nothing is kept a secret since it is obvious that our suffering friends shared those hardships with us and will always remember them. In the end, they become the voyage. Yes, Shri Modi, our people have suffered, but they have persevered, and our countries are built on their resilience.

Somewhere Our ancestors are celebrating your arrival and speaking through the winds of recollection, their spirits roused by the holy reunion of their dispersed offspring somewhere in the far echoes of time, in the annals of history. This fortunate occasion confirms what we already know: the bonds between our two countries are indeed indestructible.

She said that during the COVID-19 epidemic, India, led by Prime Minister Modi, sent vaccinations to tiny countries like Trinidad and Tobago, calling it an “act of shared humanity and love.” She said that PM Modi will receive the highest honor of Trinidad and Tobago, “the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” on Friday.

“Under your leadership, India has reached out to the world, but never more so than through your kindness and generosity with the vaccines initiative,” she added. While other governments were stockpiling medical supplies during the COVID-19 epidemic four years ago, you, sir, made sure that vaccinations and supplies reached even the tiniest countries, including Trinidad and Tobago. Where there was dread, you gave peace and optimism with your kindness. I reiterate: this was a gesture of brotherhood and goes beyond diplomacy. This was a gesture of compassion.

One of the many reasons we are so delighted to give you, Excellency, the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is that this was an act of love. Tomorrow, the greatest honor in our country will be bestowed. Compassion, resiliency, and the eternal truths of our common ancestry bind us together as threads in the same human fabric, regardless of our circumstances. Therefore, honorable prime minister, let us go on this road as brothers and sisters, partners, and proud offspring of the greatest lasting legacy in history. This sea of harmony. Our legacy is this. All of this is love,” she said.

In his speech to the Indian community in Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the historical and cultural significance of Bihar, commended the bravery of the Indian diaspora, and referred to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as the “daughter of Bihar” and asked her to provide water from the Sarayu and the Mahakumbh to the Ganga Dhara in the Caribbean nation.

The ancestral home of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad & Tobago was Buxar, Bihar. Kamala ji has been there herself. “She is regarded as a Bihar daughter,” PM Modi said.

“As everyone is aware, the Mahakumbh, the biggest religious assembly in the world, was held earlier this year. It is an honor for me to be carrying water from the Mahakumbh. Here, I ask Kamala ji to give the Ganga dhara the sacred waters of the Sarayu River and Mahakumbh,” he said.

Along with 38 ministers and four members of the Caribbean nation’s parliament, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar welcomed PM Modi at Piarco International Airport on Thursday (local time) to begin his first official visit to Trinidad and Tobago.

In addition to being the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister to the Caribbean island since 1999, this is PM Modi’s first trip there as prime minister. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, invited the visit.