Suriname
India enjoys close, warm and friendly relations with Suriname, reinforced by cultural and people to people contacts bridged by Indian Diaspora's arrival dating back to one and half century. Several high level visits have been exchanged since establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Suriname in 1976 with Indian Embassy opened in Paramaribo in 1977 and Surinamese Embassy in New Delhi in 2000.
Cooperation to tackle the challenge of COVID-19 Pandemic
- India provided lifesaving drugs and protective gear worth USD 100,000 to Suriname as Covid 19 relief grant and also, 50000 doses of Covid vaccines in March 2021.
- Essential medicines worth over USD 600,000 has also been provided to Suriname in August 2023.
Capacity Building & Other Exchanges
- Suriname, as an ITEC partner country, has made use of over 500 ITEC slots.
- For the financial year 2022-2023, Suriname was allocated 42 ITEC slots and one ICCR Scholarship slot.
- In June 2019, two senior officers from Suriname participated in a specialized training program for CariCom mid-level/senior customs officers through ITEC.
- Additionally, more than 200 Surinamese diaspora have benefited from various programs and scholarships offered by the Government of India, including 164 Surinamese individuals through the Know India Programme, 26 through the Special Know India Programme for middle-aged diaspora, one through the SPDC scholarship for pharmacy in 2018-19, two who joined the Agra Hindi Sansthan in 2019, and three who pursued postgraduate/undergraduate courses under ICCR/AYUSH scholarship.
Development Cooperation (Grants/ LoCs/ Assistance)
- On 22 March 2023, a debt restructuring agreement was approved by India and signed by
- 4. Completed Suriname. Suriname signed a “Dollar Credit Line Restructuring Agreement” with EXIM Bank of India.
- Two LoC agreements on EBS transmission line and Chetak helicopter maintenance were signed, and a US $20 million LoC for ISA projects was announced.
- India extended four credit lines to Suriname for water pumps, power transmission lines, crash fire tenders, and coastal equipment.
- LoC projects:
- 161 kv electrical transmission line from Parana to Paramaribo.
- Water Supply Project.
- Coastal Communication Network from BEL and Chetak Helicopters from HAL.
- Ten crash fire tenders from BEML.
- In 2015-16, MEA India granted $311,567.21 for upgrading S' Lands Hospital morgue in Paramaribo.
- MEA provided a $169,400 grant to the Institute for Natural Resources and Engineering Studies (NATIN) of Suriname.
- General V.K. Singh handed over a $150,000 cheque to Suriname for flood rehabilitation in 2017.
- In 2017, Suriname received grants of $29,988 for school children and $37,250 for senior citizens' Christmas celebrations.
- In June 2018, during the President of India's visit, two small grant projects were announced:
- $175,602 for a Craft Marketplace in Paramaribo.
- $109,800 for 200 computers for students.
- India's First Lady donated $10,000 to Mytyl School (special needs) and in August 2018, India provided $50,000 for flood victims in Suriname.
- In September 2019, PM Modi announced a $1 million grant for each CariCom member-State for community development under the India-UNDP Fund, with projects including early warning service delivery for flood resilience, swimming pool and stadium repairs ($400,000), and CEIT building construction ($350,000).
- Under the USD 1 million grant for the SME Sector announced by EAM during the India-COFCOR meeting in Guyana, Suriname submitted proposals for:
- A passion fruit packaging unit.
- A rice husk processing unit in Nickerie.
- High-quality cassava flour production for the bread industry.
- During President Murmu’s visit, she donated $25,000 to each of two Indian temples, Arya Diwaker and Vishnu Mandir.
- India provided an annual grant of $29,500 for Hindi promotion in Suriname through Suriname Hindi Parishad until 2019.
- Surinamese President, ministers, and government officials, alongside the Indian Embassy, inaugurated an Ayurvedic Health Center and Medicinal Plants Garden Project at Proeftuin Dirkshoop in Saramacca.
- An MoU on Traditional Systems of Medicine was signed in January 2020, and International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2019 was celebrated in three districts of Suriname.
Quick Impact Projects (QIPs)
- The Government of India has approved 19 projects under five Quick Impact Projects.
- The umbrella agreement on QIP was signed on 10.03.2023 and individual MoUs for each of the five priority projects were signed on 17.03.2023.
- Each project has the monetary ceiling of USD 50,000. Another MoU has also been subsequently signed during President Murmu’s visit. Four QIPs are under implementation:
- ‘Promoting recreational activities for the society in Nickerie by rehabilitating the DC Roblesplein’,
- ‘Supporting ICT education of TVET secondary schools in Suriname by upgrading IT Equipment at the Educational Classroom of NATIN’,
- ‘Supporting various sports facilities in Suriname by setting up a synthetic jogging track at Lelydorp in the District of Wanica’,
- ‘Sustainable Support of a chemical teaching laboratory at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FWNW) of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS) by amplification of the electrical network and purchase of relevant supplies’.
