The visit by India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to Trinidad and Tobago last week marked a powerful diplomatic milestone. As his longest tour in a decade spanning Africa, South America and the Caribbean, it sent a clear message: India is serious about deepening ties with emerging economies like ours. For T&T, this is an opportunity we cannot afford to waste.
While monetising oil and gas remains a priority, the urgent need to build a strong renewable energy sector for long-term sustainability cannot be overstated. India can help us achieve this as it is a global leader in renewable energy, having co-founded the International Solar Alliance with 120 member countries and leading the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure to strengthen global energy resilience.
Its achievements are remarkable, from building some of the world’s largest solar parks such as Bhadla in Rajasthan to achieving record-low solar tariffs, electrifying urban rooftops and rural communities, mapping offshore wind potential, and developing hybrid wind-solar farms.
India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission targets five million tonnes of production by 2030 to decarbonise industries, and its innovative financing models, such as viability gap funding and green bonds, are supported by partners like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Beyond large-scale projects, India has pioneered decentralised renewable energy solutions, including mini-grids, solar irrigation pumps, and community biogas plants, enhancing rural energy access and reducing diesel dependence.
For Trinidad and Tobago, partnering with India on solar, biomass, and green hydrogen projects would support our decarbonisation goals while offering opportunities to access technical expertise to build renewable policy frameworks. We could also adopt India’s community-based renewable models to bring clean energy to Tobago and under-served parts of Trinidad, while emulating their creative financing strategies to accelerate our energy transition.
Agriculture and food processing have been signalled as priorities by the UNC Government, and India’s expertise in this area can help us fast-track our goals. India’s agricultural success is underpinned by high-yield seed varieties stemming from its Green Revolution, widespread use of micro-irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler irrigation that optimise water efficiency, and digital agriculture solutions such as farmer advisory apps and precision farming technologies.
By collaborating with India, we can modernise our farming practices, build robust agro-processing industries, and significantly reduce our food import bill while improving food security.
In pharmaceuticals and healthcare, India is one of the world’s largest producers of generic medicines and vaccines. As Trinidad and Tobago faces persistent shortages of essential drugs alongside rising healthcare costs, partnering with India offers the possibility of enabling local pharmaceutical manufacturing, building regulatory capacity, and making medicines more affordable for our people.
Additionally, India’s health tourism sector attracts over half a million foreign patients yearly for treatments ranging from cardiac surgery and orthopaedics to fertility and Ayurveda-based wellness therapies. T&T can benefit by forming partnerships with Indian hospitals and medical institutes to train our healthcare professionals, expand telemedicine services, and position our country as a niche medical tourism destination for the wider Caribbean.
India’s digital revolution also offers powerful lessons and opportunities. As a global ICT powerhouse exporting over US$200 billion annually in IT services, India’s success is driven by companies such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, employing over 4.5 million people. Its digital transformation has been underpinned by initiatives such as the JAM Trinity, which integrates universal bank accounts, biometric ID systems, and mobile connectivity to ensure direct benefit transfers and minimise leakages in public services.
With over 800 million Internet users enjoying the world’s lowest mobile data costs, India has created a truly inclusive digital economy. Its Digital India initiative has transformed land records, utilities, health, and tax services, while the Unified Payments Interface has revolutionised micro-commerce by processing over ten billion transactions monthly. India also hosts the world’s third-largest start-up ecosystem, with over a hundred unicorns across fintech, edtech, healthtech and e-commerce.
Heavy investments in artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity, and 5G technology have positioned India firmly at the forefront of next-generation digital solutions.
Trinidad and Tobago can modernise public services using Indian e-governance platforms, attract investors to establish coding academies and ICT training to build a future-ready workforce, and bring Indian IT firms to set up Caribbean hubs serving Latin America. Collaborating with India on cybersecurity and digital infrastructure under existing MOUs would also enhance national resilience.
To translate these opportunities into tangible benefits, Trinidad and Tobago should move quickly. We need to activate the signed MOUs through sectoral committees with quarterly reports to Cabinet. Quick-win projects in ICT and renewable energy should be prioritised within the next 12 to 18 months. Establishing a High-Level India-T&T Economic Diversification Task Force, co-chaired by the ministers of Planning and Economic Affairs, Trade, Investment and Tourism, and Foreign Affairs, would ensure coordinated action. Sector-specific India-T&T Investment Forums held within the next year would attract Indian investment and technology partnerships.
By activating these agreements with clear implementation frameworks and strong private sector engagement, we can transform this strengthened partnership into real economic growth, national resilience, and a brighter, more secure diversified future for every citizen.
—Author Indera Sagewan is an economist.
