PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

The Trinidad and Tobago government on Wednesday said it was important for the country to look beyond traditional markets in order to successfully overcome the slowdown in economic growth as a result of the global financial crisis.

Addressing a one-day seminar on 'Doing Business with Cuba', Trade and Indus-try Minister Mariano Browne said while the oil-rich twin-island republic had been able to weather the downturn much better than its regional counter-parts, "we have seen a reduction in the demand for our goods and services and some decline in exports".

"As a small, de-veloping country bat-tling to survive in this global scenario, Trinidad and Tobago must look beyond traditional export markets such as CARICOM (the Caribbean Com-munity) to navigate this stormy period and continue along the path to economic success and develop-ment," Browne said.

"We are moving past the CARICOM market into the Greater Caribbean and to do business well in Latin America we must speak the language of our business partners.

"To date, we have been able to achieve rapid economic growth and a healthy per capita income from strong natural gas and petro-chemical exports. However, we are cognisant that the country cannot meet its developmental objectives solely relying on the export performance of these sectors," he said.

Browne said that the Patrick Manning government has been pursuing an outward-oriented approach in trade negotiations, emphasising market access and integration into the global economy, which, in turn, links directly with the adminis-tration's economic diver-sification strategies.

Untapped territory

"Cuba still remains largely untapped territory so we urge you to focus some of your energies on this market. The government has already demon-strated its com-mitment to supporting you in this venture by negotiating the appropriate market access. The onus is now on you to seize the opportunity."

The trade minister said that two years after government and the Business Development Company Limited hosted a seminar on doing business in Cuba, there have been positive results in efforts to improve trade with Havana.

More to come

He said the first seminar focused on providing information to the local business community on the Trinidad and Tobago Trade Facilitation Office, which was established later that same year in Havana, and the CARICOM/ CUBA Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement.

"Indeed, these are the two structural pillars which support our process of making inroads into the Cuban market," Browne said, adding that Port-of-Spain has since established an embassy in Havana to strengthen trade and economic relations with Cuba.

Trinidad and Tobago's main imports from Cuba include sugar, tobacco and plastic products.