TRINIDAD: May 4, 2016: Improving south-south cooperation in Trinidad and Tobago and CARICOM was at the center of a meeting with the Chilean Ambassador Fernando Schmidt Ariztía and Chief of the Horizontal South-South Cooperation Division Mr. Eugenio Pössel.
This meeting was hosted by Permanent Secretary Mrs. Joanne Deoraj on behalf of the Ministry of Planning and Development at their Port-Of-Spain Head Office. Also present were Mr. Kishan Kumarsingh, Head of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit (MEAU) and Mr. Terry Mohomed, Assistant Director at the Technical Cooperation Unit both of the Ministry of Planning and Development.
The meeting was part of a two-part platform for dialogue aimed at fostering deeper south-south technical cooperation between the two countries and also to generate ideas for future cooperative opportunities for all in the Caribbean. Mr. Eugenio Pössel spoke on taking a sub-regional approach to five (5) key areas of focus; Food Security, Natural Disaster Management, Governance and Corporate Practices, Climate Change and the Triangularization of these and other similar Projects. The consultation concentrated on a discussion between the Ministry and the Chilean Team on south-south technical cooperation and solutions to achieving their respective mandates regarding sustainable development and achievement of their respective sustainable development goals.
The Permanent Secretary Mrs. Joanne Deoraj, stressed the Ministry’s willingness to engage with the Chileans in their respective projects and outlined the specific administrative measures the Ministry was currently undertaking to facilitate easier and more effective project coordination. She stressed the main goal was to facilitate a coordinated and consolidated response to international projects by bringing all portfolios under the Ministry’s purview under one specific unit. She also mentioned the Ministry’s interest in gaining expertise in population profiling and population studies via a triangular project with Chile and Mexico and technical cooperation in the area of cultural immersion and disaster management. Mr. Terry Mohomed of the Technical Cooperation Unit (TCU) also spoke on using technical cooperation between the countries to bolster the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) and for other social programs geared toward poverty eradication. He stressed the need for expertise on monitoring and evaluation, and utilizing the best practice of the Chileans whose model in the area saw effective streamlining and selection of projects resulting in high impact initiatives.
Regarding Climate Change discussions at the meeting, Mr. Kumarsingh of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit (MEAU) mentioned that his division was currently formulating an implementation plan around a Carbon Reduction Strategy geared toward the Transport and Power generation industry within Trinidad & Tobago. The aim of this strategy is to reduce emissions by 15% by 2030. The Multilateral Environmental Agreements Unit (MEAU) was also in the process of updating their national carbon strategy plan taking into consideration new international guidelines , recent developments and paradigm shifts on the issues as well as and developing a monitoring, reporting and valuation system. He also mentioned their exploration into the use of CNG vehicles to which the Chilean Ambassador expressed his great interest .In closing, both parties ended with the agreement to host further dialogue to utilize each other’s resources for mutual benefit for each country in a transparent and sustainable manner.
