Prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar began her official engagements at the Sixth Summit of the Americas on Sunday afternoon with the signing of an agreement for her country to become a special member country of the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF).
This follows a decision by the Cabinet on February 9, 2012, that the minister of finance implement the agreement between the government of Trinidad and Tobago and the Andean Development Bank for the subscription of common capital and expanded country membership in the institution.
The signing of the loan agreement clears the way for a portfolio of local government projects to become eligible for CAF financing. These include projects regarding infrastructure of roads, transportation, telecommunications, power generation and transmission, water and sanitation.
The prime minister indicated that the occasion of the Sixth Summit of the Americas was an ideal opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago to sign such an Agreement given the theme of this year’s Summit ‘Connecting the Americas; Partners for Prosperity.’
She stated, “The signing of this Agreement sends a strong message of Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment at the highest political level, to deepening regional integration as well as south-south cooperation in advancing development across Latin America and the Caribbean.”
She stressed that Trinidad and Tobago is poised to take on an increasingly active and leading role in strengthening inter-American relations and in the pursuit of fruitful partnerships.
The CAF is a development bank established in 1970 that currently consists of eighteen countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, as well as fourteen private banks from the Andean region. The organization promotes a model of sustainable development through credit operations, grants and technical support, and offers financial structuring to public and private sector projects in Latin America.
Based in Caracas, Venezuela, CAF has offices in Buenos Aires, La Paz, Brasilia, Bogota, Quito, Madrid, Panama City, Lima and Montevideo.
A CAF mission, headed by its president Enrique Garcia, is scheduled to visit Port of Spain from May 16-18, 2012, to further explore the possibilities arising from Trinidad and Tobago becoming a special member country. The minister of finance affirmed that the signing of the agreement at the Sixth Summit will provide added impetus to these discussions.
