Persad-Bissessar, in her capacity as chair-in-office of the 54-member nation Commonwealth, listened to the organisation’s current projects and challenges and urged the leading officials to work toward improving the body’s profile among its members.
“There is tremendous value in holding things together,” she stated. The meeting, which was held at Malborough House, home of the Commonwealth Secretariat, took place on the eve of the two-day Commonwealth Business Forum.
The Commonwealth team was led by Deputy Secretaries General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba and Ransford Smith. Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma is attending the Commonwealth Games in his native India.
Leading officials in such fields as human rights, communications, legal and constitutional affairs, political affairs and law attended yesterday’s meeting.
Persad-Bissessar was accompanied by a delegation that included Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Suruj Rambachan and Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Cadiz.
The Commonwealth team told of the fledging youth ambassadors programme, while Persad-Bissessar explained her plan for a Commonwealth Youth Parliament.
She stressed the importance of championing the fight against the trade in small arms, saying that this illicit activity was negatively impacting upon Trinidad and Tobago.
Other matters discussed included debts and access to financing by small States and funding for environmental projects. Persad-Bissessar said she will advocate the issues on the international stage.
Dr. Rambachan spoke of Trinidad and Tobago’s move to decentralise local government and asked for a review of models adopted by other Commonwealth nations.
Persad-Bissessar and her delegation also held talks Tuesday with Dr. Mohan Kaul, the Director General of the Commonwealth Business Council, which is hosting the two-day conference on economic partnerships among member countries.
Dr. Kaul offered to hold a similar conference in Trinidad and Tobago next year. Persad-Bissessar promised to look at the proposal but stressed that she will not subject the country to having to foot the cost of an international conference.
There has been great interest in London in the Prime Minister’s vision for Trinidad and Tobago and the Commonwealth.
She is expected to share some of her thinking Wednesday morning when she speaks at the opening session of the business forum.
The conference has attracted more than 300 leading public and private sector executives.
Executives from Trinidad and Tobago leading business organisations will participate in the conference.
-Ken Ali reporting from London
No comments:
Post a Comment