Trinidad & Tobago seeks Latin support

Saturday, November 22, 2003

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Trinidad and Tobago continues to vigorously pursue its bid for the Headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). 

So far intense lobbying by Trinidad and Tobago at the recent Ibero-American Summit has borne fruit, as the country now has a commitment from the Andean Group (Venezuela) and the Central American Group (Costa Rica) apart from the Caricom countries.

There are 21 countries in the grouping: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela and creates an umbilical link between the European powers of Spain and Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America. 

Caricom countries are not members of this regional grouping.

Trinidad and Tobago is the only English-speaking Caribbean country to have been invited to address this body and to be accorded observer status for the duration of the meeting. 

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