T&T and Caricom are concerned about the impact of deportees on the crime situation in the region, says Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon. She was speaking during Monday's luncheon reception for outgoing United States Ambassador Dr Roy Austin, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dock Road, in Port-of-Spain.
Reiterating that the crime rate was linked to drugs, Gopee-Scoon said consultations were ongoing on the subject of the US Federal Air Marshals Agreement and the implementation of recommendations of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). This would entail criminal intelligence analysis and information and intelligence sharing at international and regional levels, she added.
Austin, a criminologist, began his tenure as ambassador on October 19, 2001, and is expected to fulfil the obligations of his portfolio during the next few days. Accompanied by his wife Glynnis, Austin was paid lofty tributes for his role in strengthening existing ties between the US and T&T.
Gopee-Scoon said several initiatives sanctioned by Austin included HIV-Aids funding, disaster preparedness and mitigation, law enforcement co-operation and security for domestic energy installations– had led to a strengthening of the capacity of the region as a whole. Building on Austin's success, she said, T&T also looked forward to an extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) of 2000, of which T&T has been a major beneficiary.
Gopee-Scoon said the USA was T&T's largest commercial and financial partner. "More than a billion dollars in recent years have endowed the petrochemical, oil/gas and iron/steel sectors," she said. "Apart from energy-related products exported to the United States, there is also a viable market for T&T's signature products, namely aromatic bitters, fish, flowers, beer, sugar confectionery, rum and flavoured water," she said.