She was delivering the feature address at the Exporter of the Year awards at the Diplomatic centre. She said the government has put together a number of initiatives that involves the business community.
“At this critical juncture when our global, regional and domestic economy and general social and political environment is in this state of key evolution, there is a crucial need for us to move beyond our comfort zone. The time for this is truly now,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar noted that for the first time in a decade the awards were being handed out “at a time when our economy is suffering the effects of the global financial crisis that is still in its recovery stages, and therefore, facing significant challenges.”
She added that as the global economy begins to recover from the financial crisis, the challenge for Trinidad and Tobago is to position itself to take full advantage of the recovery and “to usher the economy back on a path of robust growth and development."
She suggested that this presents an opportunity be innovative. “We need to move beyond the current regional markets, we need to look for new frontiers, new opportunities. And we need to do this together, both Government and private sector, if we are to ensure our economic survival.”
The Prime Minister said Trinidad and Tobago has a proud history of business development and suggested to members of her audience that this can be helpful in navigating through the tough economic times.
She referred to the successes of local companies such as S.M. Jaleel, Charles Candy, Angostura, K.C. Confectionery, Sasha Cosmetics who have already charted a course beyond regional markets. She said they and others like them “should inspire us to think, to believe that every market is accessible and profitable to us.”
She declared, “Let us in these challenging economic times always remember that it is up exporters, business owners and entrepreneurs, to continue to look for new markets and opportunities, and to continue to innovate to provide new products and services.
“Our exports are really the lifeblood that sustains our national well being, our quality of life and our place in this world. We sometimes fail to recognise that exporters positively impact on employment, productivity and production outputs and our balance of trade accounts.
The Prime Minister said, “The time has come to leverage these skills, these services, to effectively brand, promote and export them. In this regard, a clarion call has to be made to the service providers in the services sector to become more entrepreneurial, more innovative, more export oriented.”
She also gave the business community the assurance that her Government will be a senior partner in every business, and the private sector “in spirit and in action”, ready to assist is driving exports and to create opportunities that “the new global environment has put unto our doorstep.”
She reminded her audience that the 2011 Budget reflects this commitment by providing incentives to generate new investment, sustain small business development and innovation, support measures to promote development poles and to support arts and culture.
She said she hopes that some of our incentives will provide stimulus for greater efficiency and productivity in the business sector. One of these is the reduction of the wear and tear allowance from 25 to 10 per cent, except for buildings.
The Prime Minister dismissed the idea postulated by “some commentators” that the economy is stagnant. The said the government is of the opposite view, noting that the economy is poised to take off “once we grasp the opportunities at hand, once we take advantage of the new markets within our reach.”
She declared, “We have every reason to believe that 2011 will be a year of positive economic growth” with the Central Bank anticipating real GDP growth of about 2% in 2011, led by developments in the energy sector but with the positive growth in the non energy sector for the first time in three years.
“To achieve this though, we must all do our part; we must all take responsibility to lead this country to a path of sustained economic growth.”
The Prime Minister said her government has taken into consideration “the tumultuous events of the past two years” and understands that our strategic approach to the external environment has to be revisited.
“Our relationships with other states and economic blocs have to be enlightened and visionary, and have to be guided by our economic survival, both in the present and for the future.
“The present global economic reality has posed significant challenges for developed economies who have been, for the most part, our traditional trading partners…Indeed, we are in the midst of an evolving global economic landscape.”
She said one of the collateral effects of the present global crisis is that the developing countries, led by China, have gained greater weight in the global economy and in its governance, noting that between 2000 and 2008 this group of countries accounted for two thirds of world output growth, increasing their share from 37 per cent to 45 per cent.
“In such an environment, export diversification, innovation and technology building strategies must be pursued. These strategies, though, can only bear fruit in the presence of strong public private alliances.
"Links between firms, universities and technology centres must be strengthened to ensure that knowledge utilised and innovation created are relevant to the business sector of this country, and can have a positive impact on our ability to export quality and high value goods and services,” she said.
“Government strongly believes that the time is now to diversify away from our traditional export markets, from our comfort zone.”
She announced that the government is preparing to complete a “Partial Scope Trade Agreement” with Panama to allow a limited number products and services from Trinidad and Tobago to enter the Panamanian market and urged exporters to take advantage of this opportunity.
“We believe Central America should be the next frontier for our exporters. Both the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade have given their commitment to develop closer economic and trade ties with this region, and I am assured that more Partial Scope Trade Agreements will be signed with other countries in Central America, shortly,” she said.
She also said the Trinidad and Tobago Diaspora in North America and Europe has much to offer.
“We need to target, engage and encourage more of these types of businesses, as these are not only retailers of products, but they as Ambassadors of Trinidad and Tobago, promoting our food, our culture, our way of life in a foreign land, and more importantly, earning a profit from it. Indeed, this government will be pursuing strategies to develop greater economic linkages among the people of Caribbean Diaspora market.”
She said Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been mandated to craft a Diasporic Trade Policy which will guide the relationship with Trinidad and Tobago citizens and business people living abroad.
She concluded by saying that the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago should work hard to ensure economic growth and rebuild the society under the guided principles of transparency and accountability.
And she urged exporters to look for new opportunities, new markets, and to be innovative to develop new products and services “which will add value, which will benefit not only citizens of Trinidad and Tobago or CARICOM, but the global citizen.
“But let me remind you that in expanding your trade to never forget the key to success in every business and indeed human endeavour. And that is service to the people—your customers, your organisation, your country and your fellow human beings—with love, compassion, integrity and dedication.
”Every entrepreneur would do well to remember that all successful business stands on the foundation of morality,” she said.
“Be the exporter, be the businessperson, be the company, be the corporate citizen, which makes that fundamental difference to the lives of our citizens and then only will you be a truly successful entrepreneur and human being.”
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