High Commissioner of Trinidad and Tobago to India, H.E Dr. Roger Gopaul held a virtual dialogue with the Confederation of Young Leaders (CYL) on July 28 and delivered the CYL Distinguished Lecture on Actualizing Natural Convergences between India and Trinidad & Tobago.
The CYL Distinguished Lectures Series was inaugurated in 2018 by the then Union Cabinet Minister for Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs, Government of India, H.E Mr. Arun Jaitley at New Delhi. The CYL Distinguished Lecture Series invites speakers of global eminence from among the leading intellectuals and policymakers to spark transformative ideas for our shared future.
“Relationship between India and Trinidad & Tobago goes back to 30 May 1845 when the first ship ‘Fatel Razack’ carrying 225 Indian indentured workers reached the shores of Trinidad, then a British colony. Their numbers increased with the subsequent arrival of more ships from India. The descendants of those indentured workers, now in their fifth generation, form nearly 42% of the total population constituting an integral part of the economic, political and social fabric of the country. The presence of a substantial population of Indian origin – the largest ethnic group has contributed immensely to close bilateral relations between the two countries.”, said, H.E Dr. Roger Gopaul.
While delivering the inaugural remarks, Chairman of the Confederation of Young Leaders, Mr. Himadrish Suwan, said “Covid-19 can keep us maintain social distancing but can never keep us apart in the heart. In this backdrop and with the vision to promote exchanges at various verticals, I am pleased to announce 31 fully-funded scholarships for our friends from Trinidad and Tobago under the name and the style of the Indian Institute of Governance and Leadership’s Friendship Scholarship which would pave a way for our friends from Trinidad and Tobago to pursue our various academic programs of international standard.”
Ms. Shubhangi Chakravarty from the Indian Institute of Governance and Leadership (IIGL) moderated the virtual dialogue.
