Perm Sec praises Chaguanas Chamber

Seignoret congratulated chamber president Richie Sookai, the chamber’s executive and its membership on the milestone. “This new location will position you to serve the business community of Chaguanas even better than you have been doing, to date,” Seignoret said.

She commended the Chamber on its several projects which have yielded visible success and contributed to the progress of the residents of Chaguanas and surrounding areas. Noting that some of the most dynamic companies were situated in the Borough, she encouraged the business community to continue to cooperate with Government to achieve sustainable economic growth, adding that ‘a sustainable future for our economy requires that our businesses become more dynamic, innovative and export-oriented drivers of growth.

You must take risks, Seignoret urged, seek out new markets, become net earners of foreign exchange, increase private investments and build your competitiveness.

Seignoret told the gathering of initiatives being pursued to improve the Ease of Doing Business, including automation of the construction permitting process of the Town and Country Planning Division which is expected to increase efficiency and reduce approval times; and the readiness of Phase I of the Tamana In Tech Park in Wallerfield for investment opportunities in areas such as Information and Communication Technology; Data Processing; Business Process Outsourcing; Software Development and Animation; and High Value Manufacturing.

She stated that Minister Gopee-Scoon recently attended a Commonwealth Trade Minister’s meeting in London where Member Countries discussed opportunities for boosting intra-Commonwealth trade to US$1 trillion by 2020. She said ‘in the face of sluggish global trade, countries around the world have been seeking out new trading relationships and the Commonwealth market presents significant trading opportunity, with a population exceeding 2.3 billion persons.’ The Permanent Secretary commended the Chamber’s President on his successful tenure underpinned by his commitment to the economic and social prosperity of Chaguanas and Trinidad and Tobago.

Sookhai expressed his appreciation to the Board of Directors who steadfastly supported the relocation of the Chamber’s office so that it can now stand as a ‘beacon for the people and business community of Chaguanas.

Sookai called on the membership to continue to work together with the Government to effect positive changes in the Borough.

He gave the assurance that the Chamber would continue to be a strong advocate for issues that affect the lives of the business community.