India extends US$500 million line of credit to Guyana
India has announced an extension of a US$500 million line of credit for Guyana, to support roads, health and defence projects.
The announcement came on Wednesday, November 4, during a meeting between President Dr Irfaan Ali and India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
The two leaders also signed three agreements aimed at bolstering relations between the two countries: a Memorandum of Understanding on Indian grant assistance for the implementation of Quick Impact Projects; a Memorandum of Agreement on the supply and installation of micro and small enterprise (MSE) manufacturing projects; and an agreement on cooperation in digital public infrastructure and the functioning of a Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-like system in Guyana.
President Ali welcomed the credit facility, saying it would support major infrastructure works, including roads that will open up thousands of new homes and house lots, as well as improvements to main highways. The health and defence sectors are also expected to benefit from the financing.
The credit is a commitment to finance projects, and the two governments will now work on developing projects under the arrangement. No specific projects have been named yet.
The meeting also included a comprehensive review of India-Guyana bilateral relations, with the two sides discussing ways to further strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, energy, agriculture, infrastructure development, digital technology and capacity building.
The engagement builds on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Guyana in November 2024 — the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 56 years. Jaishankar said the two sides reviewed the steady progress in bilateral cooperation since that visit.
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