T&T/Canada sign 2 bilateral cooperation agreements

T&T-Canada - 50 years of diplomatic relations

Trinidad & Tobago and Canada signed two new bilateral agreements Tuesday on the first day of a state visit to the country by a Canadian delegation led by Governor General David Johnson.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissesssar gave details of the agreements during a brief address at a luncheon she hosted for the vistors.

The agreements are a Framework Arrangement in the Health Sector, which would assist in the expansion and modernisation of our health sector facilities, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning the Sharing of Correctional Information and Expertise between both prison services.

Persad-Bissessar said she looks forward to the successful conclusion of other agreements that are currently being negotiated.

"My Ministry of Public Administration has held discussions with the Canadian Commercial Corporation on an umbrella agreement or MOU which would allow the Ministry and other public service agencies to do business with suitable Canadian service providers," she said.

"We seek to partner with Canada to modernise our own public service," she said adding that a number of activities have been outlined to this end.

These include:

• the establishment of One-Stop-Shops and other measures to improve access to government services. These approaches to service delivery require a technology platform, a robust policy framework and governance arrangements to facilitate decision making
• shared services particularly in areas where resources are scarce or where multiple public service agencies share accommodation
• institutional strengthening of key agencies . 

"In this regard, the MOU on Public Sector Modernisation is expected to be signed shortly between the Ministry of Public Administration and the Canadian Commercial Corporation," the Prime Minister said.

Persad-Bissessar said the state visit and the presence of high ranking members of the Government of Canada is an indication of continued strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

She offered a toast on behalf of the Government and people of Trinidad and Tobago to the Government and people of Canada "as we celebrate 50 years of excellent diplomatic relations".