Sense of optimism and enthusiasm from Canadian Delegation due to T&T strong Economy. Trade Minister Vasant Bharath yesterday called for more foreign direct investment (FDI) From Canada to stimulate the T&T economy. He did so when he met with a 30-member Canadian delegation—led by Senator Don Meredith—which is in T&T looking at ways to strengthen trade and economic relations, as well as investment opportunities in various sectors. Canadian Senator Don Meredith yesterday said this country should look at falling oil prices as an opportunity to move forward and diversify the economy. Meredith said the government of Canada under prime minister Stephen Harper has been able to weather the growing turbulence in the global energy sector because of its diversified economy. “I think this crisis, or this potential problem creates an opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago to move forward and the diversification into other sectors, agriculture, tourism, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) eco-tourism, creates an opportunity for these sectors to move forward at this particular juncture in time,” said Meredith. The statement made by the Canadian delegation comes at a point in 2015 when our economy is strong and in good shape. The macroeconomic indicators by which we measure our economic strength as a regional leader and global player are far better than the economy we inherited in 2010. The following statistics are testament to that fact ; - Unemployment remains historically low at 3.6 percent; - At the end of December 2014, our foreign reserves stood at US$11.3 B (TT$73B), an increase of almost 30 percent from 2010 and the highest in our country’s history; - The Heritage and Stabilization Fund has increased by over US$2B since 2010 to US$5.5B (an increase of over 65 percent since 2010 - New Investment in the energy sector is projected in 2015 to be well over US$2Billion (TT$13 billion) - In December, Standard and Poor’s reaffirmed Trinidad and Tobago’s “A” credit rating, with a stable outlook for the economy. The Government continues to roll out the red carpet and clear the bureaucracy in doing business in T&T which was evident by the World Bank hailing T&T as one of the top ten reformers in the world out of 189 countries. Government remains committed and flexible in ensuring that the necessary reforms are made to make certain the investment dollar stays on the shores of T&T. It was as a result of this strong economic situation that Canadian senator Don Meredith said, “We are leaving with a sense of optimism, a sense of enthusiasm as well with respect to the projects that will be brought back here infrastructure wise and the ICT and investment that will be brought here the oil has affected your revenues of $1.2 billion and certainly this is an opportune time for all of us to get together.”
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 18:46:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015