T&T
committed to Latin America
By Asha Javeed
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
07 01 07
Ken Valley, Minister of Trade and Industry, yesterday
emphasised how integral transport links between
T&T and Central America for integration between
the two regions.
He noted that Constellation Travel Tours inaugurated
its twice-weekly flight to Curacao and Piarco yesterday.
He said with Panama as a hub, it was easy to gain
access into Central and Latin America.
He also noted that Copa Airlines is due to commence
service between Panama City and Port of Spain in
December.
During
T&T’s bid to host the Free Trade
Area of the Americas, former national carrier,
BWIA, had regular flights to Costa Rica, Cuba and
Dominican Republic. However, in 2005, the flights
were stopped as they were not economically feasible.
With regular flights, the Ministry is hoping to
facilitate trade in the region.
“We are coming back home,” Valley
said.
He
was speaking at a function hosted by the Trade
Ministry to update stakeholders on its initiatives
to integrate T&T’s economy into Latin
America.
“A major component of our Latin America
Initiative involves pursuing negotiations with
neighbouring Latin nations for bilateral trade
agreement, and in this regard Trinidad and Tobago,
as a member of Caricom, has already signed trade
agreements with Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, the
Dominican Republic and Costa Rica,” he said.
He said a Trade Facilitation office was also established
in Cuba and is expected to open its doors by August
1.
The official launch is targeted for the first
week in November 2007.
The
Trinidad Guardian
Thursday 28th June, 2007
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©2007 The Trinidad Guradian. All Rights Reserved.
