India, Trinidad set to sign new trade pact

Thursday, 09 November 2006, 20:30 IST
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Port of Spain: India and Trinidad & Tobago have concluded negotiations for a bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement that is designed to boost investor confidence and joint ventures on both sides. "We have completed the formalities from our side and are ready to sign the agreement at the earliest convenience from your side," Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said Thursday at a banquet in his honour by Trinidad & Tobago President George Maxwell Richards. Shekhawat arrived here on Thursday on the final leg of his two-nation tour of the Caribbean. Stating that India was deeply appreciative of Trinidad & Tobago's economic progress, he said that the increasing investment by Indian companies in Trinidad & Tobago and in other parts of the world is the sign of emergence of a new India. Trade between India and this tiny Caribbean nation of 1.3 million ethnically diverse people stood at 1.75 billion in 2005. A number of Indian companies - including the Essar group and Asian Paints - have invested in this country and more are in the offing. The vice-president also stated that India has decided to increase the number of ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) scholarships for Trinidad & Tobago nationals from 20 to 30 a year. Shekawat's visit is the first high-level visit by an Indian dignitary to Trinidad & Tobago since then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit in 1999. Last year an Indian parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had also come to Trinidad & Tobago, which is home to over 500,000 ethnic Indians. Earlier, on Thursday, Shekhawat was received at Port of Spain's Piarco International Airport by Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning when he arrived from Guyana. Later he laid a wreath at a statue of Mahatma Gandhi here.
Source: IANS