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.