BRI enhances trade flow, economic development, says Trinidad and Tobago minister

PORT OF SPAIN -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plays an important role in enhancing the flow of trade and economic development, said Paula Gopee-Scoon, trade and industry minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

"The initiative is a significant project from the point of view of both countries. For China, it represents investments into another country, and for us, that assistance facilitates our development," Gopee-Scoon told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Trinidad and Tobago is the first Caribbean country to sign a BRI cooperation agreement with China, and the country's Phoenix Park Industrial Estate is the first BRI project in the Caribbean.

Designed and built by China's Beijing Construction Engineering Group, the industrial estate covers an area of about 580,000 square meters and is managed by e TecK, a state-owned enterprise of Trinidad and Tobago.

"The Phoenix Park Industrial Estate is a significant project for Trinidad and Tobago and will play a formidable part in the economic development of the country, being a prototype that can be adopted throughout the country when developing similar industrial parks," said Gopee-Scoon.

She said that a group of Chinese investors will arrive in Port of Spain "very shortly" for a visit to the new industrial park and other industrial estates.

"But far beyond that, there are other people-to-people exchanges and training opportunities offered by China to the government of Trinidad and Tobago in several areas, including the public sector," she said.

Gopee-Scoon is scheduled to visit China next month to attend the 16th China-LAC Business Summit and the 6th China International Import Expo.

"Among the delegation will also be our national investment promotion agency, InvesTT, and export promotion agency, ExporTT, as well as members of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association, which represents the private sector," she said.

The trip aims to seek export opportunities for high-quality products and attract new investors for the industrial park and other parts of the Caribbean country, according to the minister, who will visit Beijing and Shanghai, and three cities in Jiangsu Province during the trip.

The global environment is rife with uncertainty and turmoil, but "unity and solidarity are essential ingredients for our collective progress, if we are to create a community with a shared future," said Gopee-Scoon.

"Differences will always exist. However, we must work towards building closer ties, finding commonalities and resolving our differences, if we are to benefit now and in the future," she added.