India and Guyana are experiencing rapidly growing bilateral ties, marked by a major energy partnership where Guyana will supply crude oil to India. In exchange, New Delhi has provided a substantial line of credit for infrastructure and defence projects, while Guyana has notably adopted India's UPI payment system.

India and Guyana are experiencing rapidly growing bilateral ties, marked by a major energy partnership where Guyana will supply crude oil to India. In exchange, New Delhi has provided a substantial line of credit for infrastructure and defence projects, while Guyana has notably adopted India's UPI payment system.

India and Guyana are experiencing rapidly growing bilateral ties, marked by a major energy partnership where Guyana will supply crude oil to India. In exchange, New Delhi has provided a substantial line of credit for infrastructure and defence projects, while Guyana has notably adopted India's UPI payment system.

India is betting heavily on a Latin American nation and it is not Brazil, Venezuela or Mexico. Guyana, which boasts some of the world's fastest-growing offshore petroleum reserves, is one country with whom India's bilateral ties have seen a meteoric rise in recent years.

Guyana holds more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent, making up nearly 18 per cent of global oil and gas discoveries recently. India imports five million barrels per day and Guyana recently offered to supply 20 per cent in the future, giving New Delhi a solid foothold in South American energy corridors.

Besides future crude imports, this also paves way for exploration rights for state firms like ONGC Videsh Ltd.

In return, India has extended a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Guyana to finance critical projects in road infrastructure, healthcare, and defence. The fact that India extends such large-scale soft loans and concessional LoCs only to its neighbours demonstrates how important this bilateral relationship is for India. 

The largest recipient of India's soft loans is Bangladesh with $8 billion line of credit. This followed by Sri Lanka at more that $2 billion, Nepal at around $1.65 billion, Maldives at nearly $1.43 billion and Myanmar at about $745 million.

India's concessional, low-cost or zero-cost soft loans with longer repayment windows are seen as a welcome alternative over China's alleged debt-trap diplomacy with mandatory clauses.

Besides energy partnerships, Indian companies also benefit from economic opportunities in the country as road, health and defence projects creates direct entry points and export orders. Guyana has also adopted India's UPI system in contrast to the widely-used Brazilian Pix platform in the region.

The announcement was made by External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar during a bilateral meeting with Guyanese President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 in Antigua and Barbuda.

Jaishankar said the credit line is intended for roads, health and defence projects.

"India has already completed several development projects in Guyana, and the new line of credit will further strengthen the development partnership between the two countries," a statement issued by the MEA read.

The recently signed deals also look at funding the establishment of manufacturing facilities for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), which would in turn drive local employment opportunities.