Minister and PS visit Asia

Minister of Trade and Industry Stephen Cadiz , PS Carl Francis and Randall Karim, Director, Policy & Strategy, have arrived in Singapore to attend the Latin/Asia Business Forum. In addition, Minister Cadiz will meet with his Singaporean counterpart, the Honourable Lim Kiang, to discuss a range of trade issues, including the need to negotiate a bilateral investment agreement between our two countries.

Minister Cadiz is then scheduled to visit Shanghai, China for T&T week celebrations at Expo Shanghai 2010 and the Trinidad & Tobago Business Forum which takes place on 27^th September 2010. The Minister’s week-long trip to Asia offers a significant opportunity for strengthening of T&T’s relationship with key businesses in this vital sector of the world economy.

Minister Cadiz’ presence at the Latin Asia Business Forum (LAB) in Singapore will mark T&T’s second year of participation at the event, which takes place on 22^nd September 2010. Inaugurated in 2004, LAB is widely recognized as the region’s premier event for Asia’s leaders to network with their Latin American counterparts. According to the Minister, T&T has returned to this event to “continue the process of strengthening the commercial relationship between our two regions as we believe that we have much to offer and gain from our partners in Asia”.

Apart from his meeting with the Honourable Lim Kiang, Minister of Trade and Industry, Singapore, Minister Cadiz will also meet with key representatives from the Singaporean firm CrimsonLogic, the company which is working alongside the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) to implement the Single Electronic Window (SEW) in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Minister is also scheduled to meet with the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF) to discuss the possible participation of Singapore companies in Tamana Intech Park (TIP), the largest environmentally friendly, Science and Technology Park in the Caribbean. SiTF is Singapore’s premier infocomm industry association, which brings together some 400 corporate members from MNCs and local companies. SiTF assists its members in business development, market intelligence, overseas trade missions, networking and alliances.

In Shanghai, China, the Minister will take part in the T&T week at Expo Shanghai 2010 and will also host the T&T Business Forum at the Sofitel Hotel in downtown Shanghai. The Forum involves presentations from a range of agencies on doing business and investing in Trinidad and Tobago. Invitees to the Forum include some of the major businesses in Shanghai along with key members of the local chamber and other business associations.

The global economic landscape is changing and many countries in Asia now present Trinidad and Tobago with great opportunities for business joint ventures, technology transfer, tourism, cultural cooperation and training. MTI envisions that this encounter will help to further strengthen economic ties between Trinidad & Tobago and its Asian counterparts and enhance our position as a major presence for investment within this region.

Kes and Joe Brown at Expo Shanghai 2010

Expo Shanghai 2010 will experience the power of T&T’s music ambassadors in late September when international entertainer Kees Diefenthaler and his group Kes The Band, Maximus Dan, Rikki Jai and Nadia Batson perform at the Trinidad and Tobago booth. The sounds of soca, chutney and rapso will be on full display in China onstage at the CARICOM Pavilion.

The local entertainers are the major acts featured during Trinidad and Tobago week, which runs from September 19^th to 26^th at the Pavilion, where the T&T Booth is located. The week features a number of activities including local food, product displays and sales, carnival costume displays, etc. T&T Week is designed to highlight the various aspects of our culture for visitors and participants at the Expo.

In addition, Chef Joe Brown will join the T&T delegation to prepare authentic Trinidad and Tobago food, which will be featured at the Trinidad and Tobago Business Forum which takes place on September 27^th at the Sofitel Hotel in downtown Shanghai. Hosted by Eteck, The Forum involves presentations from a range of agencies on doing business and investing inTrinidad and Tobago. Invitees to the Forum include some of the major businesses in Shanghaialong with key members of the local chamber and other business associations.

Part of the overall CARICOM Pavilion, Trinidad and Tobago’s presentation at Expo Shanghai 2010 focuses on a core activity of securing business opportunities in trade, joint venturing and foreign direct investment. The concept of our display ties in closely with the overall theme of Expo Shanghai 2010 and allows us to ingeniously focus on the many business opportunities available in our major metropolitan areas by highlighting through striking photographic images, visuals and text, the many strengths and competitive advantages of Trinidad and Tobago to potential investors, business partners and members of the visiting public.

Expo Shanghai 2010 is a scheduled World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions held under the Bureau of International expositions (BIE). The theme of the exposition will be "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic, diplomatic and cultural centre. It is expected to generate the largest number of visitors in the history of the world's fairs in terms of gross numbers.

More than 200 countries and over 50 international organizations are participating in the Shanghai World Expo. China expects to receive almost 100 foreign leaders and millions of people from across the world to come and visit the World Expo. 70 million visitors are expected overall, the largest in history.

Chef Joe Brown

Kes the Band