VP Adhin and Modi discuss agrarian sector and Ayurveda

Vice-President Adhin reaffirmed Suriname’s support for India as a permanent member of an expanded UN Security Council. VP Adhin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reportedly discussed the further development of the mining and the agrarian sector in Suriname. PM Modi told Adhin that Suriname has all the potential to become the Ayurveda headquarters in Latin America. Ayurvedic medicine (“Ayurveda” for short) is one of the world’s oldest holistic (“wholebody”) healing systems. It is a traditional Indian healing method based on spirituality and medicinal herbs.

Modi has offered to let Surinamese citizens travel to India to acquire knowledge at Ayurveda universities. They can then bring that knowledge back to Suriname and develop it into an industry with the help of Indian experts.

PM Modi and VP Adhin also discussed the palm oil industry. Agreements with Indian entrepreneurs still have not gotten off the ground as Suriname is a bit hesitant when it comes to allocating a huge piece of land to a foreign investor. This was one of the demands that Indian palm oil giant FFF had put on the table. FFF first wanted several tens of thousands of hectares of land before discussing visible investments. MP Rashied Doekhi (NDP) who is also the advisor of President Desi Bouterse regarding the palm oil deal with FFF explained that the entrepreneurs first wanted the land before taking steps to seek financing for the project that would cost $250 million. “In that case we prefer to do it ourselves,” said MP Doekhie. VP Adhin also discussed Suriname’s potential in the cattle breeding, forestry and wood processing sector.