Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s landmark visit to Trinidad and Tobago has paved the way for expanded cultural cooperation between the two nations, with India announcing a training initiative for a group of Trinidadian Pundits and their participation in the upcoming Geeta Mahotsav in India.
According to a joint statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), PM Modi announced that the selected Pundits will receive formal training in India and later join the Geeta Mahotsav celebrations, a key cultural and spiritual festival.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar welcomed the initiative and expressed strong support for hosting parallel Geeta Mahotsav celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago, aligning with those held in India.
The MEA further highlighted that both leaders commended the long-standing impact of the bilateral Programme of Cultural Exchanges, under which the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation (MGICC) was established in 1997. A new MoU for 2025–28 has been signed to renew this programme.
Under the agreement, Trinidad and Tobago will also send artists—particularly in Percussion (Steel Pan) and other indigenous art forms—to India to further deepen cultural exchanges.
PM Modi thanked the government of Trinidad and Tobago for actively promoting Yoga and the Hindi language, and offered to send Indian yoga trainers to assist in incorporating yoga into the country’s national school curriculum.
Both sides also celebrated the revival of Academic Chairs in Hindi and Indian Studies at the University of the West Indies—another step to foster educational and cultural linkages.
On the sports front, the two Prime Ministers acknowledged the nations’ shared passion for cricket, announcing an MoU on Sports Cooperation, which will focus on training, infrastructure development, and talent exchange. PM Modi reiterated India’s willingness to train young women cricketers from Trinidad and Tobago.
In trade and investment, both leaders agreed on the need for increased business collaboration and emphasized establishing direct links between business organizations of the two countries.
PM Modi’s visit—his first to Trinidad and Tobago as Prime Minister and the first bilateral Indian PM visit since 1999—is part of his five-nation tour from July 2 to 9, aimed at bolstering cooperation in sectors like digital finance, renewable energy, healthcare, and technology.
