Shri PP Chaudhary, Union Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Justice & Corporate Affairs, Government of India is currently on an official visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. On the first day of his visit, Shri PP Chaudhary met Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. The Honourable Ralph Everard Gonsalves.

Dr. Gonsalves welcomed Shri Chaudhary to St. Vincent and the Grenadines and wished him a great stay during his visit to the country. Shri Chaudhary thanked Dr. Gonsalves for having him in the beautiful island country and recalled the meeting of the Hon’ble Prime Minister with the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly 2015 in New York.

During this meeting, the two leaders extensively discussed various matters related to the bilateral relations between the two countries. During the meeting, both leaders agreed to not only deepen the engagement between the Governments of two countries but also expand the people-to-people interactions for the mutual interest of both nations. Shri Chaudhary also assured the Hon’ble Prime Minister of all possible cooperation from the Indian side for the progress and development of St. Vincent and Grenadines.

Earlier in the day, Shri PP Chaudhary met Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Commerce, Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ms. Sandy Peter-Phillips who briefed the Hon’ble Minister about the bilateral relations between the two countries. Shri Chaudhary also visited Indian settlements in Calder and Richmond Park, areas where Indian origin people had migrated as early as the 19^thcentury. Such visits play an instrumental role in engaging Indian diaspora for our nation’s socio-economic development.

Later in the day, Shri PP Chaudhary also attended the cultural programme followed by the dinner hosted in his honour. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Gonsalves was also present for this program.

Shri PP Chaudhary has undertaken this visit under the Bruhad Sampark Yojana, an initiative by the Ministry of External Affairs to expand the bilateral relations of India with countries across the world. Championed by Prime Minister’s vision of making our nation a ‘Vishwaguru’, this initiative entails the visit of a high-level ministerial delegation from India to countries where no senior ministerial delegation has undertaken a visit during the recent years.

Bilateral engagement expanded through ministerial visit, agreement to deepen government cooperation and broaden people-to-people ties. A ministerial visit under the Bruhad Sampark Yojana focused on strengthening bilateral engagement by meeting the Prime Minister and senior officials, offering Indian support for progress and development, and engaging the Indian diaspora through visits to historic settlements to expand people-to-people ties.