India will always be reliable partner to Suriname: Jaishankar

India will always be a reliable partner to Suriname in its journey to progress and prosperity, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, underscoring New Delhis human-centric cooperation with the Caribbean nation and the Global South.

India will ''always be a reliable partner'' to Suriname in its journey to progress and prosperity, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, underscoring New Delhi's ''human-centric cooperation'' with the Caribbean nation and the Global South. Jaishankar made the remarks during the handing over of a passion fruit processing facility in Paramaribo, built with Indian financial assistance, to Suriname. The minister is here on a three-nation tour to the Caribbean from May 2 to 10. ''In the time to come, as Suriname advances in its quest for progress and prosperity, India will always be a reliable partner,'' he said. ''We are always there to share our experiences and to collaborate in a manner in which your government feels best in terms of its own national priorities and progress,'' he added. Jaishankar joined Surinamese Foreign Minister Melvin Bouva and Agriculture Minister Mike Noersalim at the handing over of Agro Passion Fruit. The Indian minister said that such projects serve to underline a larger message of India as a partner of Suriname and the Global South. He said India's commitment to Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- the world as a family-- is demonstrated not just in words but through projects and activities, and ''this is a very good illustration of that.'' The minister said that these steps convey the message that ''friendships at the end of the day must make a difference in the lives of people.'' ''Our cooperation has been human-centric, and if one looks at our relationship over the last few years, one can see that it has had a direct impact on the lives of ordinary citizens,'' he said. Jaishankar added that the handing-over event was symbolic of India and Suriname's shared desire to take their bilateral partnership to newer heights. The project, built with Indian assistance, is a ''commitment to value addition and self-reliance'', Jaishankar said in an X post, adding that it reaffirms India as a trusted development partner of Suriname. During the day, the minister met Suriname's National Assembly Chair Michael Ashwin Adhin. The two held a ''warm and productive discussion on India-Suriname cooperation in various domains. Recognised the importance of Parliamentary exchanges between our two democracies,'' Jaishankar said in a post on X. Before arriving in Suriname, Jaishankar was in Jamaica. Trinidad and Tobago is the next stop of his three-nation trip, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.