NEWS
School suspended for 1,500 migrant children]
More than 1,500 Venezuelan migrant children in Trinidad and Tobago are being affected by the suspension of the Equal Place educational programme. For more than a month, the children registered for Equal Place have not had their virtual classes. Parents and guardians concerned about the situation told Newsday teachers had initially said the children would be on vacation after finishing one of the terms. Read more here
WHO chief: The COVID pandemic is ‘most certainly not over’
The COVID-19 pandemic is “most certainly not over,” the head of the World Health Organization warned Sunday, despite a decline in reported cases since the peak of the omicron wave. He told governments that “we lower our guard at our peril.” The U.N. health agency’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told officials gathered in Geneva for opening of the WHO’s annual meeting that “declining testing and sequencing means we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.” He also noted that almost 1 billion people in lower-income countries still haven’t been vaccinated. Read more here
POLITICS
Rowley on regional food security: Time to get serious
The Prime Minister has said that TT together with Guyana will be taking steps towards strengthening self-sufficiency on regional food supplies noting that it was "time to get serious." Dr Rowley made the remarks while speaking with reporters during a media conference at the VIP Lounge of the Piarco International Airport after returning to TT from Guyana on Sunday afternoon. Rowley visited Guyana to attend a three-day Agri-Investment Forum and Expo to discuss improving supply channels for food supplies and other trade issues. Read more here
T&T, Guyana sign MoU with hopes of ‘endless possibilities’
Yesterday’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement between T&T and Guyana can lead to a win-win scenario for Caricom and its 15-member states in improving its food security and supply for the region. The signing came four days after Guyana’s Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on its government to block T&T from putting its signature on the MoU until T&T removes non-tariff barriers against Guyana. However, the call by the chamber was ignored as T&T’s Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne and Guyana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd signed the MoU, promising to develop a strong strategic partnership in the areas of trade, investment, agriculture, food security, energy, security, education, tourism, non-tariff barriers and goods and services for the mutual benefit of their countries and the Caribbean. Read more here
BUSINESS
Amcham T&T calls on Govt to consider nearshoring as diversification option
The American Chamber of Commerce of T&T recently presented a policy paper titled, “Nearshoring Framework and Rationale for the Government of T&T” to the Trade Ministry aimed at boosting this country’s economy. Compiled by Amcham T&T’s digital transformation committee, the paper centred around how a nearshoring strategy could result in more investments into T&T. Amcham noted that nearshoring is important especially as the Government seeks to diversify the economy and find new and sustainable ways to improve its gross domestic product (GDP). Read more here
TTCSI: We need services ecosystem
The services sector must be prioritised going forward to expand export initiatives, according to Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) president, Mark Edghill. Speaking at the TTCSI’s two day conference held at the Hilton Trinidad last week, Edghill said his organisation is leading the way in crafting a new strategic direction for services in the region. “The TTCSI decided that we needed to take a more strategic approach to the expansion of the services sector by incorporating all our export initiatives under a single, forward-looking, internationalisation strategy—an export call to action, for the services sector, which we refer to as Go Global TT Services,” Edghill said. Read more here
REGIONAL
MoU between Guyana, T&T solidifies Guyana’s regional and geopolitical importance
President of the Guyana Oil & Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC), Manniram Prashad has congratulated the Government of Guyana and the Government of Trinidad & Tobago for having committed to a renewed bilateral cooperation between the two countries. On Sunday, the two nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering trade and investment, energy, security, agriculture, infrastructure and the removal of non-tariff barriers, among other interests. GOGEC, in a statement, also congratulated President, Dr. Irfaan Ali for positioning Guyana to take the lead at the regional level on these fronts, which solidify Guyana’s regional and geopolitical importance. Read more here
INTERNATIONAL
Biden vows to defend Taiwan in apparent US policy shift
US President Joe Biden has warned China is "flirting with danger" over Taiwan, and vowed to intervene militarily to protect the island if it is attacked. Speaking in Japan, he appeared to contradict long-standing US policy in the region, although the White House insisted there had been no departure. Mr Biden drew a parallel between Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, prompting an angry rebuke from Beijing. He is on his first tour of Asia as US president, visiting regional allies. Mr Biden prefaced his remarks saying US policy toward Taiwan "has not changed". But his comments in Tokyo are the second time in recent months he has unequivocally stated the US would defend Taiwan if China attacked, in what has been seen as a change in tone. Read more here
23rd May 2022