BWIA survival key in Govt’s plan for TT

THE SURVIVAL of national airline BWIA is critical to Government’s plan to establish Piarco as the alternative hub into Latin America, and this factors greatly in the decision to save the cash-strapped carrier. This was revealed yesterday by Trade Minister Ken Valley when he addressed a Sensitisation Breakfast Meeting at the Hilton Hotel. He was responding to a question from Lisa Chamley, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce, about establishment of air links between Trinidad and Tobago and Latin America. Valley said establishment of air links was a critical issue in the face of globalisation, and emphasised the importance of the airline: “BWIA is not important simply because of its bottom-line. It is important because of the linkages which can be formed.”

In his address on the status of ongoing external negotiations and trade policy initiatives, Valley said to date Trinidad and Tobago was participating in several trade negotiations at the sub-regional  and global level, including the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union and  ACP States. “In all of these agreements, the attempt is to protect our interests while seeking to lock in favourable access to markets larger than ours.” He revealed that a key concept underlying the  present negotiation stance was special and differential treatment for smaller economies such as Trinidad and Tobago. Valley said at the WTO level, Trinidad and Tobago, as a member of Caricom would join like-minded states to make the WTO agreement more sympathetic towards developing countries. Valley emphasised government’s commitment to facilitating the private sector in its upgrading to face the ongoing globalisation process. He said they recognised the need to “fast track” their programme of diversification. This required enterprises of all sizes to embrace quality standards coupled with positive environmental primary practices, he noted.