India’s ‘WAR’-World Alliance Responsibility-is a model of international goodwill. PM Modi has become an early Santa Claus as he addressed Caricom on Wednesday in Guyana.

Setting out his seven pillars for supporting the region, he went a step further and declared us more than a collection of small island states, but a ‘continent’ and an ocean, and in so doing gave us added value and status. The cumulative effect of his seven pillars of pledges is fairly comprehensible.

The lucky seven pillars each positively impacting us are highly commendable and seem based on improving life in this new ‘continent’. Let us begin to see ourselves as such, if only to appreciate the need for us to be united.

PM Modi’s address touched on all of education, food security, the elusive Caricom affordable travel, the sport of cricket, security of borders, and assisting in tackling human trafficking, among others issues, but each intended to help the region.

As we applaud India, we must note this is a welcome ‘war’, unlike elsewhere in the world today. PM Modi has also asked for a monitoring agency to ensure details and implementation.

Caricom awoke today to a new and different dawn.

Relevant are the summits held in the region on security, the school curriculum reform as a means of addressing crime at which we aim, the ’25 by 25′ reduction of our food import bill, the cricket discussions held in T&T earlier this year and, noteworthy, the underlying aim of development of people and institutions in the region.

This is the concept of responsibility at an international level. India, projected to grow into the third largest economy by 2030, has sought to become the model of such adherence to the concept.

Today, we often lament the lack of corporate social responsibility at the grassroots level, and while we commend India for taking the lead internationally, we urge corporate citizens to follow suit.

Awards and accolades as bestowed already on PM Modi are all in order and appreciated. The significant impact will be the development of our people as we pursue these offers of assistance as voluntarily given by India. India shows the way here.

As time will tell we await the roll-out and may blessings abound to India.

Lennox Sirjuesingh Chaguanas