WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has held talks with Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne aimed at improving the long standing relationship between the two countries.
US Secretary of State, Antony J. Blinken (Left) and Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne (US State Department Photo)“Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Browne emphasized the importance of the strong US-Trinidad and Tobago bilateral ties, including the significant role the Trinbagonian Diaspora plays in promoting cultural and economic ties,” said US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price in a brief statement late Tuesday.
“The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the importance both countries place on support for democracy within the Western Hemisphere. The Secretary also expressed appreciation for Trinidad and Tobago’s votes supporting Ukraine and the UN Charter at the United Nations.”
Price said Blinken noted that “democracies need to stand together to counter those who seek to suppress freedom and abuse human rights.”
Before their meeting, the US Secretary of State said he was “very glad especially for this opportunity to continue to deepen the already strong bilateral relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
“We are working together in so many ways every day in our own hemisphere, working to continue to strengthen democracy, to forge ahead on building even greater economic prosperity, working on challenges of regional security,” he said.
“Of course, we have deep connections between our people. There are more than 10,000 Americans visiting Trinidad and Tobago every year for tourism, for business, and we want to see that increase. We have a very vibrant Diaspora here in the United States, which we very much welcome.
“But we’ve also done a lot of work together particularly building off of the President and Vice President’s, I think, very important and in some ways even historic meeting with the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries during the – during our summit in Los Angeles,” said Blinken.
“And what we were really instructed to do by the President and Vice President following that meeting was to actually follow up and to make good on the important discussion but also on the important initiatives that came out of that meeting, and this is a good opportunity to do that,” the US Secretary of State added.
Browne said Port-of-Spain looks forward to working with Washington “to further cement a well-established and productive, fruitful relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and the United States of America.”
“You’re right; we’ve been working closely on a number of critical issues,” Browne told Blinken, noting that ‘some of the priorities for the Caribbean community are shared with the United States of America.
He listed them as including energy and food security, improving the region’s access to financing for development, and recognizing that the long standing deplomatic relationship between the two countries.
“And we share a significant Diaspora, but we also share principles in common – respect for democracy, a desire for peace in our region, and to see countries working more closely together,” Browne said, stating that he looked forward to “putting the commitment established at the recent Summit of the Americas further to action and to ensure that our countries can be – continue to be very close collaborators”.
