Raphael John-Lall
India’s growing commercial ties with T&T come at a time when south-east Asian country is one of the world’s emerging economic powers.
Last month, India’s Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated India’s first bullet train factory, placing India in an elite group of countries that can design and build bullet trains.
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by at least 6.0 per cent in 2026 and its economy ranks 6th in World Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with $4.15 trillion.
India is also a dominant player in the pharmaceutical industry, being one of the world’s largest manufacturers of generic drugs by volume.
It is the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of vehicles and it leads the world in agricultural output and has the second-largest agricultural land area. The country is also the world’s largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices.
Given this backdrop as a rising global economic giant, India and T&T, which share strong historical ties, continue to build a strong business relations in the 21st century.
As part of a three-nation Caribbean tour, India’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited T&T two weeks ago.
That visit followed Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visit to T&T in July 2025.
During the Jaishankar’s visit, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed in areas including economic and financial development, tourism, digital innovation, renewable energy and community-based projects.
Jaishankar said T&T stands to benefit from deeper collaboration with India in areas ranging from digital payments and pharmaceuticals to energy security and renewable energy initiatives.
Growing ties
In an interview with the Business Guardian, President of the T&T India Business Federation, economist Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon outlined the strategic business and trade ties between the two countries.
He said the T&T-India economic partnership has entered its most consequential phase since diplomatic ties were formally established in 1962.
“As the world’s fastest-growing major economy, soon projected to become the third-largest overall, India’s rise has profound implications for small, open economies like T&T. Against this backdrop, T&T is actively exploring a Partial Scope Trade Agreement and a new Bilateral Investment Treaty, which are critical to expand trade, strengthen investor confidence, improve market access and deepen economic integration between both countries.”
He noted that a preferential trade agreement would provide greater market access for T&T’s key exports, not only energy and petrochemical products, but manufactured and agro-processed goods such as cocoa, seafood, sauces and beverages.
In return, he said T&T would secure more affordable Indian pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agri-tech, automotive parts and ICT equipment, benefitting from competitive Indian pricing, lower tariffs, and faster customs treatment on strategic imports.
“With global supply chains fracturing and our dependence on a narrow set of trading partners an exposed vulnerability, deepening ties with India addresses this directly, channelling preferential access into higher export revenues that ease foreign exchange pressure, spurring Indian Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across energy and non-energy sectors, and creating skilled employment that drives genuine economic diversification.”
He said beyond bilateral gains, however, lies a larger strategic opportunity: T&T can position itself as India’s preferred commercial gateway into the Latin American and Caribbean region.
“Indian exporters seeking entry into the Latin America and Caribbean markets require regional logistics, trade-finance infrastructure and banking services rooted in a jurisdiction they trust. T&T’s geographic location, modern port facilities, sophisticated financial sector, English-speaking workforce and existing trade linkages across LAC economies make it the logical hub.”
He argued that a modernised bilateral investment treaty can formalise this positioning, providing the investment packages and protections that may anchor long-term capital commitments from India.
Pharmaceutical advantage
Complementing this, a Development Finance Window offering concessional lending for strategic infrastructure and industrial projects structured within the bilateral framework also have potential to unlock investment that commercial financing alone cannot catalyse, he said.
He also gave insight into how India’s burgeoning pharmaceutical industry can assist T&T.
He noted that India’s pharmaceutical sector represents one of the most strategically aligned opportunities in this relationship.
“Producing over 50 per cent of global generic medicine demand at a fraction of Western big-pharma prices, and holding the largest number of US FDA-approved manufacturing plants outside the US, India offers cost competitiveness without quality compromise.”
Arjoon explained that this directly addresses three pressing healthcare vulnerabilities: unaffordable life-saving medicines, foreign exchange leakage on high-priced pharmaceuticals and recurring shortages.
“The larger opportunity, however, is industrial. T&T can position itself as India’s Caribbean and Latin American pharmaceutical hub, entering first as a packaging and distribution platform, then graduating into formulation and manufacturing. Our advantages are real: a highly educated workforce, low electricity costs, established port infrastructure and privileged access to LAC markets.”
He pointed out that having already signed an MoU to adopt the Indian Pharmacopoeia, one of the world’s most rigorous pharmaceutical standards, the regulatory foundation exists for faster drug registration and smoother market entry.
“Implementation requires updated procurement rules, bioequivalence protocols and a targeted investment package. The payoff is transformational: lower healthcare costs, guaranteed medicine supply, foreign exchange savings and T&T’s emergence as the Caribbean’s pharmaceutical manufacturing address. The total addressable market for pharmaceuticals across Caricom exceeds US$2 billion annually, much of it currently sourced at premium prices from North America and Europe.”
Payments help
He also spoke about how useful India’s digital payment systems would be for T&T.
“T&T’s adoption of UPI, India’s real-time digital payments platform, which processes over 17 billion transactions monthly, can significantly modernise our payments ecosystem. When implemented, the immediate benefits include faster payment settlements, lower merchant fees, reduced dependence on cash and better transparency in payments and tax collection.”
However, he said the biggest impact is on small cash-based businesses such as doubles and market vendors, food stalls, parlours, taxis etc.
“Many of these businesses face challenges such as theft risk, poor financial records and difficulty accessing loans. With UPI, a small business owner can accept digital payments instantly through a smartphone and QR code, helping them build a financial transaction history that can improve access to microfinance, business loans and insurance.”
Agriculture
Arjoon also spoke about perennial problems like T&T’s underdeveloped agriculture system and high food import bill.
“Our food import bill exceeds TT $7 billion annually, partly a consequence of limited processing facilities to absorb farmers’ raw produce, forcing them to sell excess at suppressed prices, with significant quantities sometimes going to waste. The Brechin Castle facility begins to address that gap. Three automated processing lines can soon convert locally grown root crops into value-added, export-ready products meeting international food safety standards, shifting output from raw commodity to processed goods, where margins are substantially higher.”
This would then lead farmers to receiving better farm-gate prices where post-harvest losses are reduced and finished products command greater value in regional and international markets, he said.
Finally, Arjoon said a modernised bilateral investment treaty would consolidate these gains further.
“India’s expertise in agro-processing, cold-chain logistics and value-added food manufacturing is among the most advanced in the Global South, creating much potential benefits for T&T to benefit from deeper technology transfer, investment and expertise in these areas.”
