PORT OF SPAIN: 21ST SEPTEMBER, 2023
Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry and Acting Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs met with Her Excellency Beate Stirø, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway resident in Havana, Cuba during a courtesy call on 19th September, 2023 at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The courtesy call occurred prior to Ambassador Stirø’s presentation of her Letters of Credence to Her Excellency Christine Carla Kangaloo, O.R.T.T., President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
Minister Gopee-Scoon welcomed Ambassador Stirø to Trinidad and Tobago and took the opportunity to apprise Her Excellency, who was visiting Trinidad and Tobago for the first time, on the beauty, history and wonder of the important buildings and landmarks in the capital city. Ambassador Stirø thanked the Minister for the warm reception and congratulated Trinidad and Tobago for its assumption to the Presidency of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Minister Gopee-Scoon expressed gratitude for the support of the Kingdom of Norway in this regard and indicated that Ambassador Dennis Francis’ tenure, as the President of the UNGA was a proud moment for Trinidad and Tobago and other Small Island Developing States who are reliant on effective multilateralism.
The Minister expressed her optimism in the Ambassador’s tour of duty to Trinidad and Tobago, as she highlighted a number of similarities between the two countries, as petro-based economies managing the shift to carbon-neutral sources of energy. During the discussions, several potential areas for the intensification of cooperation between the two countries were proposed. These included energy generation from wind and solar sources; incentives to increase local consumption of renewable energy technologies; candidatures for upcoming elections to several committees and agencies available in the United Nations system and the deepening of Trinidad and Tobago’s involvement in the Blue Justice Initiative. The Blue Justice initiative, which is co-sponsored by Norway, is geared towards building global capacity to combat transnational organized crime in fisheries. Trinidad and Tobago acceded to the Copenhagen Declaration, the founding agreement to the Blue Justice Initiative, on 4th October 2021.
The meeting ended cordially with both parties committing to further active engagement on bilateral and multilateral issues of mutual interest in the near future.
