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‘A robust partnership for promoting T&T’… Investment Conference in New York well attended
Posted On 25 Sep 2014
Senator Bharath as part of the ‘Investing in Trinidad and Tobago’ Plenary Session; l-r Gregory Hannays, Partner, Ernst and Young Caribbean; Minister of Trade; Mr. Christopher James, President, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association; Mrs. Racquel Moses, President, invesTT Limited
September 25, 2014:- ‘A robust partnership for promoting Trinidad and Tobago’ was the description of the calibre of speakers at and the programme of the Trinidad and Tobago Investment Conference. Making an invaluable contribution to this was Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications Minister, Senator the Honourable Vasant Bharath as part of the ‘Investing in Trinidad and Tobago’ Plenary Session. Speaking to an audience of over two hundred persons, he pointed out that ‘we are increasing our economies of scale … the world has opened up considerably and we have to learn to compete there’, ‘we are now looking at new markets’, we offer to potential investors ‘the gateway to the Americas’, and we ‘have been politically and economically stable for many years’ which gives any investor confidence to pursue this country as a viable advantage.
His contribution focused on the specific measures that the Government employed to successfully navigate its way through the recent global financial crisis; the ‘Red tape to Red Carpet’ initiatives that have been implemented to improve the investor experience; while he outlined the specific investment opportunities and industries as part of the Government’s diversification thrust. This, the second session for the one-day Conference was chaired by Gregory Hannays, Partner at Ernst and Young Caribbean. Other panellists included Mr. Christopher James, President, Tobago Hotel and Tourism Association and Mrs. Racquel Moses, President, invesTT Limited.
One participant commended the Government on the improved service delivery of the Single Electronic Window (SEW) – TTBizLink, citing success stories from her country, Canada.
The highlight of the Conference will be the Keynote Session and Luncheon where the Honourable Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was the Keynote Speaker.
Other Plenary Sessions include ‘Economic Diversification – Untapped Investment Potential’; ‘Amplifying Natural Advantage as a Financial Gateway for the Hemisphere’; and ‘US-Trinidad and Tobago Energy Relations – Beyond Shale’. Notable speakers for this Conference included some of the brightest minds of our twin-island Republic, namely Ms. Joycelin Hargreaves, Chief Executive Officer, Chaguaramas Development Authority; Dr. Rikhi Permanand, Executive Director, Economic Development Board/Council for Competitiveness and Innovation; Mr. Wendell Mottley, Chairman, Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation; Mr. Jwala Rambarran, Governor, Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago; Mr. Franco Siu Chong, Chairman, Trinidad and Tobago International Financial Centre; Mr. Anand Ragbir, Vice President Commercial, National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago; and Mrs. Meryl Rennie-Browne, Vice President, Energy Development Department, National Energy Corporation.
