Minister of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation Clement Rohee would like to see a greater balance in terms of trade between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
Instead of concentrating on selling goods to Guyana, Rohee would also like to see the neighbouring republic look at investment opportunities here.
Briefing reporters in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Conference room on Saturday following his attendance at the special meeting of the Council on Trade and Economic Development (COTED) convened in Trinidad on September 10 and 11, Rohee said that Trinidad & Tobago was “exporting more to us than we [were exporting to] them.”
Rohee said that in relation to trade and development matters he had met with players in the trade sector in Trinidad and had told them that T&T could not only focus on selling goods to other countries, but would also have to look at the issue of investment opportunities in those countries.
He said that they had reviewed trade relations between Guyana and T&T bearing in mind that for some time now a mechanism for trade and development had been in place. However, he observed that due to the fact that general elections in the neighbouring republic would be held twice in less than a year, many of the issues would fall victim to electoral politics.
Nevertheless, the Government of Guyana hoped to pursue the issues with whoever formed the new government in T&T.
Rohee said that they had looked at irritants to trade between the two countries and had identified some of the technical barriers such as those dealing with standards. They had also discussed which were some of the strategic areas for investment by Trinidadian investors.