As we celebrate the 51st anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, we would like to seize this opportunity to stress the quality of the friendly and historical ties between our two countries and express our wish to further enhance them in the future.
We acknowledge the fact that economic and cultural exchanges are still modest at this time but with the prospect of real potential to develop, we are convinced that there are many synergies possible between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Kingdom of Belgium in various sectors: from renewable energy to infrastructure development and waste management. There is also great scope for fostering linkages between our private sectors, the pursuit of academic and scientific cooperation, technical cooperation in the cocoa and chocolate industries, digitalization and the audio-visual industries for the common benefit of our nations. Accordingly, our two countries agree to explore appropriate and concrete ways to expand these potential bilateral initiatives.
At the international level, Belgium and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, because of their active diplomacy, are also privileged partners. We are indeed strongly committed to the international rule of law and peace and development through our engagement and cooperation in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Sustainable development, climate change, global warming, oceans and seas sustainability, and peace and security, among others, are issues to which we attach particular attention and in which we feel we have a common interest to work together to address.
Despite the current difficult international context linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and reaffirming our desire to see equitable access to vaccines for the benefit of all, we confirm with this Joint Declaration our wish to continue to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation that unite our two countries. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the Kingdom of Belgium are convinced that the uncertain and challenging global times represent an opportunity for like-minded countries like ours to deepen their collaboration to address current and emerging challenges.
