Improving trade, investment and cooperation was high on the agenda during recent talks between Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and the Ambassadors from Singapore and Finland.
A statement from the Trade Ministry noted that discussions were held last Friday (July 7) on cooperation between the Singapore and Trinidad and Tobago in several areas including trade, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Development and digitalisation.
Singaporean Ambassador Karen Tan, who said digitalisation “can help countries leap frog their economies”, shared information on potential collaborative initiatives including Singapore’s Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) and the Forum of Small States (FOSS) for Good Technical Assistance.
The Ambassador also expressed Singapore’s aim to increase its supply chains for agricultural products, noting the efforts Trinidad and Tobago has taken in implementing the CARICOM 25 per cent by 2025 plan to reduce the regional food bill.
In the area of tourism, Ambassador Tan said there was growth potential for T&T through the practice of multi-destination tourism in conjunction with other Caribbean countries.
There was agreement for continued work on strengthening trade and investment relations in key economic areas.
The Trade Minister received a courtesy visit on the same day from Pertti Ikonen, non-resident Ambassador of Finland to Trinidad and Tobago.
During their talks, cooperation between both countries and improving trade and investment was discussed.
The Finnish Ambassador highlighted his nation’s advancements in renewable energy and expressed a desire to increase collaboration with Trinidad and Tobago in this area.
Minister Gopee-Scoon and Ambassador Ikonen also discussed cooperation in information and communication technology (ICT), particularly 5G technology, education and the film industry.
They agreed to continue dialogue in these areas and pursue joint initiatives to realise commercial opportunities.
Source : LOOP