Businesswoman and owner of Casa Grande, Asha ‘Mrs. Ram’ Mirchandani, as she delivered her brief remarks.
A prominent businesswoman in Barbados is making a call for the establishment of an Indian Embassy in Barbados.
Asha “Mrs. Ram” Mirchandani, owner of Casa Grande, made this call during a Meet and Greet event that recently took place at her facility. The event was held to welcome the new High Commissioner of India for Barbados, His Excellency, Mahender Singh Kanyal and wife, Akriti Kanyal to Barbados.
It was during this visit that Mrs. Ram made the request for the High Commissioner to establish an Indian Embassy in Barbados, as it was promised to them by an Indian Ministry official a while ago.
She added that she also believed it was important for the Indian Government to have a system where Indians, even though they may be Barbadian or American, are given a Visa on the spot for one month, especially if they have to make an emergency visit to India.
The High Commissioner assured that he has been having discussions with the Ministers in Barbados, where he revealed that there was a long-standing MOU between the two countries that waivered the need for a Visa for diplomatic and official passports.
He added that he also raised the issue of Indian nationals not being able to receive their visa online and expressed that he was sure that under the new leadership, “which is very dynamic and forward looking” they would receive some answers and solutions to their problems.
He added that it was his intention to seek the Government’s permission, and the community’s cooperation, to set up an agency to help people of the Indian community to complete any official documentation.
“This would be an agency that is aware of all the formalities to be done and has access to all authorities and departments concerned, so that within 24 hours or 48 hours, all the formalities are completed. So, we would be very happy to extend support to such an agency which can lend support to the community and work for them,” he said.
The High Commissioner noted that he would like for those persons who work at the agency to be from the community so that they would be more understanding about the need for the speedy completion of any documents.