Presenting the Government’s Revitalisation Blueprint, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said, “In the coming years, cranes will pierce the skyline of Port-of-Spain, dredgers will carve new horizons along San Fernando’s coast, bulldozers will ready the earth in Tamana and Golden Grove, and scaffolding will rise like steel vines across our cities and towns.” The vision is for a decade-long construction boom: 129 major projects across 12 development nodes, making Trinidad “unrecognisable,” says Works Minister Jearlean John.
Indeed. Carrera Island Prison will become a 75-room boutique hotel, Isla Carrera Resort. The old Port-of-Spain Prison will be transformed into an events and exhibition hall, while a 500-acre Tamana Prison Campus will bring together the nation’s correctional institutions. Reclaimed land will take the capital city seaward with new hotels, a 400-berth marina and a financial tower. San Fernando’s waterfront will be transformed with residences, shops, a 50-berth marina and a new conference centre. The San Fernando–Mayaro Highway and Galeota expansion will improve linkages to the energy resources, while Invaders Bay and Sea Lots will become centres for trade and logistics. “Staggering,” said a Guardian editorial.
And the funding? “Government to government” and “public-private partnerships,” says Minister John, who will soon seek foreign investment through a roadshow in the Middle East.
A good place to start. There we have the Gulf Arab States on the Persian Gulf: the five wealthiest — Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar are already significant investors in the West with impressive records.
Total Saudi Arabia investments in the Western world reached US$51.6 billion in 2024. UAE investments, also with a strong Western presence, span 90 countries with a total value of US$2.5 trillion as of early 2024. And Qatar had total outward foreign direct investment (FDI) of approximately US$49.86 billion as of 2023.
Clearly, the Gulf Arab States are engaging more deeply with the West. More investments are on the way. Recent pledges include over US$2 trillion across various sectors, particularly in defence and infrastructure. It is the perfect place for our government’s first roadshow as we begin the journey towards the Revitalisation Blueprint.
Europe also beckons. I have said the European Union (EU) would be a potent force in any coming multi-polar world based on its political/diplomatic, military and economic strength. It is an economic powerhouse with twenty-seven member states in a single market of over 440 million people, the second-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, and already expanding hugely through trade and investment relations with countries and blocs of nations throughout the world — Asia, Africa and Latin America — that include regional powerhouses like China, India, Brazil and South Africa. Trinidad and Tobago, pursuing foreign investment for its Revitalisation Blueprint, would definitely want to preach the message there.
We also have Africa through the Africa/Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF). As Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Caricom, I attended the fourth annual ACTIF held in Grenada this year, where over 50 countries participated, with around one thousand delegates at the three-day event, including Heads of State, senior government officials, private sector leaders, development finance institutions and investors from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond.
And progress is being achieved. The 2024 African Trade Report said trade between Africa and Caricom has grown to US$729 million, with the International Trade Centre projecting it could reach US$1.8 billion by 2028. The momentum keeps increasing. At ACTIF24 in the Bahamas, over 15 business deals and Memoranda of Understanding were signed, valued at over US$4 billion. Key to all this is the African Export/Import Bank (Afreximbank), with which our government is presently holding discussions towards Trinidad and Tobago’s membership.
At ACTIF in Grenada, several trade and investment deals were signed between the Afreximbank and various Caricom government entities, amounting to over US$300 million in areas such as infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, digital services, tourism and agribusiness. Indeed, the Afreximbank has already provided US$3.5 billion in funding for investments by Caribbean governments in physical, educational, social and cultural infrastructure throughout our region. I have said, “Africa and the Caribbean are getting closer with unshackled opportunity for creativity, development and prosperity.”
Then there is the Indo-Pacific, “the world’s economic and geopolitical centre of gravity,” says the Centre for New American Security. A 2022 White House report says this region is home to half the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy and seven of the world’s largest militaries. It is key to global industries including manufacturing, technology, finance, energy, agriculture, fishing and tourism. Ideal opportunities for our Revitalisation Blueprint. The Indo-Pacific has four of the world’s largest economies: the US, China, India and Japan. Additionally, the ten nations of the ASEAN bloc together constitute global economic leadership alongside those four countries. In 2022, US trade with the Indo-Pacific reached US$2 trillion. Productive T&T linkages here would give real momentum to progress for our Revitalisation goals.
And Latin America is obviously also in our sights. Indeed, no region will be left out. With our Revitalisation Blueprint, we will be pursuing opportunities globally.
Watch out, world! Trinidad and Tobago is coming!
