TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S ROLE IN COMMONWEALTH TRADE
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S ROLE IN COMMONWEALTH TRADE
Senator Hon. Paula GopeeScoon was appointed
a Senator and Minister of Trade and Industry in 2015. Previously she represented Point Fortin in Trinidad and Tobago, having been first elected in 2007, at which time she was Minister of Foreign Affairs. Her studies include the University of the West Indies (B.Sc Public Administration and Law), University of London (LLB Hons International Law) and Anglia Ruskin University (MBA). Her career also includes the financial sector in banks throughout Trinidad from 1982 to 1996. An avid art collector, she is a mother of three.
Brief Country Review The twin island of Trinidad and Tobago is small, but has also become a major financial centre in the Caribbean. With a population of just over 1.3 million, Trinidad and Tobago have the highest GNI per capita in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (US$18,600 in 2015, Atlas method). Our economy is largely based on oil and gas production with the petroleum and petrochemical industries accounting for about 37% of GDP and ores and mineral fuels over 70% of exports (2015 data).1 Between the fiscal years 2000 and 2007, the average economic growth was 8%, significantly above the average of 3.7% for the LAC and Caribbean region during the same period. However GDP has slowed down since then and after a weak recovery in 2012- 2014, the economy contracted in 2015, due to sharp fall in the oil and gas prices. However, Trinidad and Tobago can count a low level of public indebtedness, adequate financial buffers, solid human capital and overall political stability, which is expected to facilitate economic growth.2 Introduction The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was represented at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Valletta, Malta, over the
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period 24-29 November 2015, by Hon. Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, together with his wife, Mrs Clarke Rowley and Senator Hon. Dennis Moses, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs. Recognising the need to foster growth and development within the economic sector he delivered the feature address on the subject of ‘Energy Security: Investing in the Future’ and another in which he showcased the business and investment potential of Trinidad and Tobago in the non-energy sectors. These segments were well received.3 In this regard, the Prime Minister joined with other Heads of the Government to launch three new facilities/initiatives designed to deliver practical assistance to support the developmental interest of Small and Developing Members of the Commonwealth. This commissioned the Commonwealth Trade Finance Facility to underwrite the payment risk faced by small Commonwealth exporters who seek to enter and/or develop new overseas markets. The lack of access to reliable and affordable trade finance on the part of the Small and Medium Enterprises that operate in most Commonwealth Jurisdictions and to establish support for their ability to participate in global supply networks.4
Trinidad and Tobago’s current economic status Through global tides, Trinidad and Tobago is no stranger to economic recessions. Within adversity ample opportunities have been presented for our people to steer through rough waters by utilising diversification. And as such, limited not to manpower skills, efficient entrepreneurship, and innovative marketing strategies. “The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ORTT) recognises that trade is the life blood of the economy.”5 This has been further elucidated by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago as stated hereunder: “When the price of oil is down, it is the opportunity for our potential as a people to rise to higher heights. It is precisely in times like these that there is room for an abundance of creativity and the birth of new and imaginative ideas. It is in times like these that efficiency and productivity must abound, so that when we return to prosperity, as we will; we will all be blessed with a wiser, more resilient, enriched and emboldened society” – Hon. Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Dr Rowley, in his address to the nation challenged the creativity of the citizenry of Trinidad and Tobago, in light of falling oil prices. Trinidad and