SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba, Dec 7 (acn) Trinidad-Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning underscored the excellent relations between Cuba and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the importance of the 3rd Summit of the regional bloc, which begins Monday in this eastern Cuban city.
CARICOM countries consider relations with Cuba of high importance and they expect that such links will expand; the 3rd Summit offers one more opportunity in that direction, said Manning upon his arrival in Santiago de Cuba.
The T&T Prime Minister sent greetings to Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro and said he would like to welcome President Raul Castro in his country. He added that the summit is important not only because of its agenda, but also due to the moment and the place it takes place under the slogan Cooperation for Integration.
As to the world financial crisis, the first topic to be discussed by the CARICOM leaders, Prime Minister Manning said that it will be important to learn about the position of the rest of the heads of state and government on the subject and the joint actions to be taken in order to face its consequences.
He said today’s discussions focus on the time the economic recession may last; some say it will take up to two years, other say less than that, but he stressed that you can not know how long it will really take, so a consensus is important to achieve.
Manning explained that many of his country’s export products, such as ammonia, urea, ethanol, iron and steel, have seen their prices fall, which has hit Trinidadian economy, while on the other hand credit lines have been reduced, thus having an impact on development programs.
Trinidad-Tobago is a group of islands with 5,128 square kilometers and a population of 1,290 000 inhabitants. It was one of the first four Caribbean nations to establish relations with Cuba on December 8, 1972; in that respect Manning stressed the good development of bilateral relations particularly in the sector of health care.
The Trinidadian PM also underscored the importance of the Summit to find consensus towards the upcoming Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development, to take place next December 16 and 17 in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
He also said that all the meetings of this kind are decisive towards the 5th Summit of the Americas, slated for April 2009 in the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain, an event in which Caribbean nations are to show common positions on crucial issues for the continent and for the rest of the world, he concluded.
Mandatario de Trinidad y Tobago destaca vínculos con Cuba
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