This article covers India's development partnership with Jamaica: grant projects, a line of credit, humanitarian and disaster assistance, training under ITEC and other programmes, and cooperation in health, digital public infrastructure, science, energy and disaster resilience. Its source is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of June 2026.

Grants and projects

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India has supported the following projects in Jamaica:

  • Electronic scoreboard at Sabina Park. India gifted a USD 1 mn Electronic Scoreboard to the Jamaica Cricket Association for the Sabina Cricket Stadium, which was installed and handed over in July 2025. During the External Affairs Minister's visit in May 2026, he and Prime Minister Andrew Holness jointly unveiled a plaque for the scoreboard at Sabina Park.
  • Flood lights at Sabina Park. Following the signing of an MoU in 2014, India provided a grant of US$ 2.2 million for the installation of flood lights at Sabina Park, completed in May 2015.
  • Kitson Town Rural Livelihood Project. This project was implemented through the FAO with the US$ 1 million grant announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 1st India-CARICOM Summit in New York in 2019.
  • IT Centre. In February 2009, India set up an IT Centre in Jamaica under the ICT Capacity Development Project.

The Kitson Town project was a two-year project whose implementation started on 30 April 2023. The Letter of Agreement was signed on 3 October 2023 by Hon'ble Floyd Green, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, and Dr. Crispim Moreira, FAO Representative. The High Commission of India and the FAO handed over the project to Kitson Town, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, in March 2026.

For the IT Centre, India provided hardware, software and training modules, and a 3-member faculty was deputed by NIIT for two years to provide training. The programme ended in February 2011 and trained over a thousand Jamaicans in various modules of IT.

During the External Affairs Minister's visit from 2 to 4 May 2026, an MoU on Solarisation of the Hugh Lawson Shearer Building was signed. The two sides also explored the establishment of an Artisan Empowerment Hub under the India-CARICOM partnership framework.

Line of credit

India extended a Line of Credit (LOC) worth US$ 7.5 million in 2001 for the import of water pumps from India, from M/s Kirloskar Brothers Ltd.

Humanitarian and disaster assistance

The brief lists the following assistance from India to Jamaica, in date order:

  • September 2004: US$ 200,000 in medicines and medical supplies for the victims of Hurricane Ivan
  • August 2010: US$300,000 as humanitarian assistance for medicines and medical equipment for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston
  • October 2010: US$50,000 to deal with the aftermath of tropical storm Nicole
  • February 2019: Indian medicines worth about US$ 1,50,000
  • February 2021: essential medicines and medical equipment worth US$ 1,00,000 for combating the COVID-19 pandemic
  • March 2021: 50,000 doses of 'Made in India' COVID-19 vaccine under the 'Vaccine Maitri' initiative
  • 1 May 2025: 60 tonnes of assistance, including generators, medicines and solar equipment for disaster preparedness
  • 6 November 2025: 20 tonnes of immediate relief material, including a BHISHM Cube (Medical Unit), flown by a C-17 aircraft after Hurricane Melissa

During the May 2026 visit, India reaffirmed its support for Jamaica's post-Hurricane Melissa recovery. This included the donation of 10 BHISHM emergency medical units, 30 dialysis units, 40 fishing boats with engines and 200 GPS devices.

Training under ITEC

During the President of India's visit in May 2022, the allocation for Jamaica under the ITEC programme was increased from 30 slots to 50 slots. The brief states that in the last 10 years (2015-16 to 2025-26), 327 slots were offered to Jamaica, of which 158 were utilised. Courses taken covered streams such as Government Function, Management and Leadership, Women Empowerment, Engineering and Technology, and Banking, Finance, Accounts and Audit.

As of 2024-25, 380 Jamaican nationals had been trained in institutions in India under the ITEC programme.

ITEC slots for defence have been reserved since 2021. Six slots were offered for 2025-26, including two for Airforce training, and from 2026 the defence training slots under ITEC were increased to 34.

Training for diplomats and security officials

Jamaican diplomats take part regularly in special courses organised by the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, Ministry of External Affairs. Programmes they have attended include:

  • Second Special Course for Diplomats from the Caribbean Community (August 2019)
  • Second Annual Disarmament Fellowship Programme (January 2020)
  • 71st Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (April-May 2024)
  • 72nd Professional Course of Diplomats (PCFD), 19-30 May 2025
  • 3rd Global South Young Diplomat Forum (8-19 September 2025)
  • Central and South America and Caribbean Islands Countries (CSACI), 29 October to 2 November 2025
  • 4th Global South Young Diplomat Forum (16-27 February 2026)

Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) conducted 5 online training programmes from 19 to 23 January 2026, in which approximately 250 persons from Jamaica's Ministry of National Security took part. The programmes covered security, law enforcement, forensic investigations, policy development, international security, human trafficking prevention, and the use of emerging technologies in investigations.

Health

Minister of Health and Wellness Hon. Christopher Tufton visited India from 8 to 11 April 2025, which the brief describes as a landmark first ever visit in the health sector. An MoU on Health Cooperation was signed in 2026, during the External Affairs Minister's visit.

Digital and science cooperation

An MoU on Digital Public Infrastructure was signed in 2024. In April 2025, a two-member delegation from the iGOT Karmayogi platform visited Jamaica for the Digital Summit organised by the University of West Indies.

In science, an MoU for Cooperation in the field of Food Research and Technology was signed in 2010 between the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Energy, climate and disaster resilience

Jamaica has signed and ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and is a full-fledged member. More than 40 Jamaicans underwent an online training programme organised by the ISA in December 2020.

Jamaica has also joined the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). On 2 November 2021, Prime Minister Andrew Holness participated in the launch of Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow.

During his visit to India in October 2024, Prime Minister Holness announced Jamaica's intention to join the Global Biofuel Alliance.