Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar on her return from the mission to India on Januray 15 told reporters at Piarco International Airport that attendees from Trinidad and Tobago held 200 meetings and signed more than 15 Memoranda of Understanding covering business ventures across several sectors, including education, information technology, public utilities and energy.

Following are excerpts of Persad-Bissessar's address:

It is always so great to be back on home ground! I am advised that you have been keenly keeping abreast of the mission and our various events, and as such you would have no doubt seen my very emotional visit to my ancestral village - this was inspiring to see from whence I came, but nothing compares to returning home, returning to my home, Trinidad and Tobago - It's great to be back!

Many of you joined us at the TSTT and CISCO produced video conference held recently where I gave a detailed overview of the mission's overall impact. From a global perspective, I am pleased to report in brief, the following: Over the two week period, the mission team was able to:

 

• Undertake the conduct of approximately two hundred meetings and bilaterals.

• Undertake the signing of over 15 Memoranda of Understanding.

• Host and Co-Host over 15 joint venture trade conferences.

• Engage in over 50 event based appearances.

This in addition to a number of off-scheduled initiatives saw your team fully engaged, and deeply involved in ensuring brand Trinidad and Tobago would be a force to reckon with. We may be small in size, but we certainly demonstrated that were we substantial in stature!

Today I would recap with you a few details on the outcomes from some of our attendant Ministries:

Science, Technology and Tertiary Education

The Minister of Science Technology and Tertiary Education, and his team, during the period held in excess of thirty meetings with a number of institutes and technical facilities, including meetings with the Indian Institute of Technology, the National University of Education, Planning and Administration, the National Institute of Information Technologies, the India Ministry for Human Resource development amongst others. Outcomes from these meetings and interventions include:

• The offering of joint professional development  programmes to industries in Trinidad and Tobago and the region, with joint faculties and programmes. Details of the MOU will be finalised in eight weeks.

• The India National Institute of Information Technologies indicated its interest to work with UTT and iGovTT in developing policy and enhancing delivery platforms for Government services and proposed to visit Trinidad and Tobago in March 2012. This MoU has been drafted and will be signed on or before Jan 16.

• An MoU is being drafted for faculty exchange, student exchange, co-supervision and research collaboration in heritage and Diaspora studies.

• An Agreement was signed between India's National Institute of Science, Technology And Development Studies and NIHERST to coordinate a T&T - Caribbean Science Forum to be held in 3rd quarter of 2012.

• I am pleased to advise that Prime Minister Singh has agreed to encourage the Indian IT sector, both private and public, to collaborate with us in developing our IT industry. Prime Minister Singh has indicated that within the next two months a delegation of IT experts and companies from India will visit Trinidad and Tobago to determine how to advance bilateral co-operation and increase 3G capacity in Trinidad and Tobago.

• Additionally, Trinidad and Tobago will benefit from improved bilateral technical co-operation, as the Government of India has agreed to increase its annual Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation (ITEC) scholarship slots for Trinidad and Tobago from 30 to 50. As you may know, these scholarships for training at various Indian Institutions, have traditionally been utilised for courses in IT and IT related fields.

• Prime Minister Singh also advised that India's IT industry is keen to expand co-operation through the Indian Technical Co-operation Fund, once a framework for such co-operation is developed.

• Support will be provided to the UTT through the Technical Cooperation Agreement in areas of Indian Art (craftsmen exchange), Drama and Film Production. I am advised that Trinidad and Tobago has been invited to an International Event in India where there are plans to host ramleelas from all over the world.

 

• In May of this year 2012, we will see cooperation on exhibits on science, contemporary art, masterpieces and paintings in T&T.

 

• Within three months, our counterparts in India will send a small team to Trinidad and Tobago to finalise a plan of action in support of the Technical Cooperation Agreement in Culture and Education.

• Trinidad and Tobago has agreed to consider the donation of Steel Pans to India, in addition to the Training of Indian Nationals in playing of the steelpan through UTT. These persons will also do a research project at the UTT and return to India as a steelband.

• The Adviser of the Prime Minister of India has indicated the need to build a robust ICT infrastructure to support other industries such as education and health. He will seek support directly from the Government of India to assist T&T in:

(1) Establishing a National Knowledge Network

(2) Establishing connectivity across all universities, R& D, industry clusters

(3) Democratisation of information via ICT platforms

(4) Establishing ICT platforms for security, payments, GIS, and procurement

• A Formal MOU has been signed between the Delhi University and the University of the West Indies  with respect to research, testing and applying new technologies. • The India Minister of Human Resource Development and CIT agreed to send a team within 8 weeks to T&T to review all aspects of ICT in T&T and to develop an action plan for the sector.

• Through AYUSH, an agreement to be signed in the field of alternative healthcare. UWI will development both research as well as incubators for this sector.

Public Utilities

The purpose of the visit from the telecommunications aspect, was to explore the possibilities for technical assistance and cooperation with the Gov't of India in the expansion of Broadband infrastructure in T&T.

This expansion is to facilitate the following:

(A) Increase broadband internet coverage throughout Trinidad and Tobago. At the present time T&T's broadband penetration is about 12 per cent.

(B) Lower telecommunications cost including for high speed internet access as an aid to the competitiveness of local businesses.

(C) Utilising the ICT industry as one of the areas for growth of incomes and jobs in the T&T economy.

(D) Provide a platform for improved and new services to the population from service providers.

• After a meeting with India's Minister of Human Resource Development, it was agreed that a delegation from Índia would visit Trinidad and Tobago within the next six to eight weeks to explore how this broadband expansion initiative could be taken forward.

Transport

• The Transport Minister signed an Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Government of the Republic of India. A number of transport solutions with respect to air, land and sea were explored for consideration and adopted by Trinidad and Tobago.

• With the move by the Ministry to engage in a diesel to CNG conversion of the existing fleet of buses at the PTSC, the purchase of an additional number of buses to cater for all segments of society, the drive to fully transform the PTSC to a CNG based Corporation and to streamline the operations of the PTSC to make it more efficient and reliable, the Minister is examining several international best practices.

Trade & Industry

The primary objective of the Trade and Investment mission sought to ensure Trinidad and Tobago's interest to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) from India to Trinidad and Tobago and to seek clients for our country's exports.

Efforts were made to ensure that the most appropriate State agencies and companies were included in the delegation. As a result, the investment promotion agency, InvesTT was a critical component of the delegation.

The business delegation covered five cities:

1. Delhi

2. Jaipur

3. Hyderabad

4. Mumbai and

5. Kolkata

 

Cumulatively, the business team convened in excess of fifty meetings, in addition to a number of bilaterals and business conferences, many of which were co-hosted by business associations in India, including:

• The Associated Chamber of India;

• The Confederation of Indian Industry; and

• The Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Stemming from the business meetings, we can expect to see concrete proposals from more than ten per cent of the companies' targets [this is ten per cent of over 100 companies] as InvesTT has signed a number of MoUs (five) and more than 15 per cent are expected to be in Trinidad and Tobago within the next three months to continue discussions and conduct the necessary feasibility studies and submit project proposals thereafter. Two will actually be in Trinidad and Tobago before the end of January.

To recap, some of the business sectors with which meetings were held include:

1. The ICT Sector;

2. Waste water management;

3. Ship building and repair;

4. Business Process Outsourcing;

5. Plastics;

6. Agricultural Sector;

7. Animation;

8. Health Sector, with targeted health based projects which will be forwarded to the Minister of Health for his review.

Energy & Energy Industries

As I mentioned at the last bi-country media briefing, India's demand for energy is growing at a rate of six per cent per annum. Its major source of indigenous energy is large deposits of coal. In recent years there has been a move towards natural gas for power generation and transportation (CNG). As you are aware, in 2011 six cargoes of LNG from Trinidad and Tobago were exported to India. The Indian Government has expressed a desire to see this number increase.

As a result, the Minister of Energy and his high level delegation that included four State Enterprise chairmen and three presidents held discussions with Indian state enterprise GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited), in the city of New Delhi. These discussions were very fruitful and have resulted in the possibility of a new partnership between the NGC and GAIL that could see the NGC taking an equity position in GAIL's major energy investments in India.

The outcome of these talks is that GAIL will send a draft MOU for the consideration of the NGC.

The energy delegation also met with major Indian companies such as ONGC Videsh, which had once shown an interest in Trinidad and Tobago. ONGC Videsh is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest companies in India.

After the meeting with the high level energy delegation, ONGC Videsh indicated that it was again prepared to renew its interest in Trinidad and Tobago and would strongly consider participation in upcoming bid rounds and even possible partnership with Petrotrin.

I mentioned to you at the recent media briefing that in October of 2011 the NEC signed an MOU with Reliance Industries Limited of India. Reliance is India's largest private sector company. This MOU was for the construction of a Bitumen Upgrader. In meetings with Reliance in the city of Mumbai, the high level energy delegation discussed the technical aspects of this project. Reliance has suggested an expanded scope that now includes an upstream component that will use heavy oil resources from Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has a significant heavy oil resource that has been largely underutilised. The proposed Bitumen Upgrader project could unlock these valuable resources. Petrotrin has committed to supply Reliance with all the information it requires to accelerate its feasibility study.

Overall the high level energy delegation met with:

1) The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas - Minister Jaipal Reddy

2) Gas Authority of India Limited

3) Engineers India Limited

4) ONGC Videsh

5) Reliance Industries Limited

6) Chambal Fertilizers

7) Essar Energy

8) Petronet

9) The Birla Group

At the highest levels of the Indian Government, the sentiment was expressed that there was a need for strong and meaningful partnership and cooperation on matters of energy with Trinidad and Tobago.

As you could tell, we engaged in an extremely hectic schedule of events, meetings, agreement discussions and signing, bilaterals, and many more all in the name of 'Brand Trinidad and Tobago'.

As you are aware, we were accompanied by two of our Sport Ambassadors, Brian Lara, and Darren Ganga, both of whom captured the hearts and minds of India, many of whom held our icons up as their own. Many times all you could seem to hear was 'Lara, Lara' - and this made us feel vindicated. And for this, I sincerely thank our Ambassadors for their outstanding contribution on this mission.

Next Steps

Any mission may only really be deemed successful based on the actual outcomes. Some of the outcomes I have mentioned, and many others will be rolled out in due course. To ensure that these outcomes bear tangible fruit to the people of Trinidad and Tobago, I have instructed on the following:

• The formation of an inter-ministerial committee to oversee the actualisation of the outcomes of this mission - this team will convene by the next two weeks and will report back to me on the way forward with a clear implementation timetable on the way forward by sector.

• The Government of India has articulated by way of Memoranda of Understanding a number of incoming exploratory missions to Trinidad and Tobago which will be followed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications.