Your Excellency Mitsuhiko Okada, Ambassador of Japan to Trinidad and Tobago, and Mrs. Mari Okada;
The Honourable Chief Justice Mr. Justice Ivor Archie O.R.T.T.
Distinguished Cabinet Ministers and Colleagues;
Your Excellencies, Heads of Mission and other members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Members of Staff of the Embassy of Japan;
Specially invited guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good evening.
I am pleased to address you this evening as we join the Embassy of Japan in celebrating the birthday of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan. I do so not only in my own capacity but on behalf of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. the Honourable Keith Rowley, and the Government and People of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
As part of the celebration, Japanese people show their patriotism by hanging their national flag on their homes with pride. Indeed, the Emperor is considered a symbol of the state and of unity in Japan.
I think it appropriate to cite a few examples of cooperation between Japan and Trinidad and Tobago. One that comes to mind is the Grass-root Grant Project given to the Rose Foundation and the Cropper Foundation in March this year towards disaster relief management. The Cropper Foundation utilised its grant to maximize emergency resilience in Matelot, and Matelot as you may know, is one of the areas that was hit recently by unusual weather. The grant was used on three projects in that community; one, to bring the Community Centre up to emergency shelter status another to provide a generator; increased water storage and improved communication systems in the village. All these project were quite timely and brought much relief to the Matelot community, and so I say thank you for the foresight.
In the area of solid waste management, nationals of Trinidad and Tobago have received training in Japan which is currently being used to enhance our environment.
The Establishment of the Natural Gas to Petrochemicals Complex for the Production of Methanol and Dimethyl Ether (DME) in La Brea, Trinidad is yet another example of cooperation.
Relations between Japan and Trinidad and Tobago have been deepened and strengthened through technical assistance and cooperation programmes and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago looks forward to continued cooperation with Japan in the years ahead.
On the 83rd birthday of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, we wish all Japanese people around the world prosperity and happiness in the coming year.
