She made the point as she briefed reporters at Piarco Airport on her just concluded trip to Australia to hand over the chair of the Commonwealth to her counterpart there, PM Jullia Gillard.
She said apart from the main meetings of CHOGM which she attended, there were opportunities for several bilateral encounters with key people in the business world, including the top executives of BP.
She said based on discussions in Australia, she had a followup meeting in London with the CEO of BP and other company officials which resulted in BP paying outstanding taxes of TT$1billion. She said that's good news for the country and good news for the finance minister. "The money is in the bank," she said.
She also updated reporters on other discussions with respect to investment in Trinidad, specifically about a proposal that has been floated by one company for an operation to market T&T's LNG to the Caribbean region. She said it is an alternative to a plan by the previous administration for an undersea gas pipeline.
However she said while she considers the plan attractive she will leave the decision making on it to the experts.
Persad-Bissessar also spoke of the need for developing south-south links and trade, including direct air links to Africa. She pointed out that there are great opportunities in looking in that direction. She said a MOU for an air link to Nigeria could soon be signed as well a similar deal for direct flights to India. (She plans an official visit ti India in January 2012).
She explained that at the present time a flight to Nigeria is cumbersome and requires travel to North America for a stopover and then a flight back south, taking many tiring hours. On the other hand a direct flight to Lagos is only five hours.
Returning to her experiences in Australia, she said she was thrilled to learn that there are "so many trinis" in Australia who were happy to meet her and her delegation. She said it was exciting to be with them celebrate Divali and to also learn that the group was able to do its own launch of a carnival band.
Trade Minister Stephen Cadiz, who also addressed reporters at the media briefing at Piarco, said he has noticed in all the foreign travels that there is excitement about Trinidad and Tobago on the international stage.
He said people know of Trinidad and Tobago and want to come here to visit and to invest. He said this is indeed a healthy situation.
He also spoke of the experience of Mauritius, which has a historical and ethnic history similar to Trinidad and Tobago's.
Cadiz said that country, located just south of the African continent, has been able to reconfigure its economy along the lines that T&T is heading. He said officials with whom he met told him that Trinidad & Tobago is heading in the right direction.
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