Britain wants ‘right deals’ with TT

Speaking with Newsday at the welcome reception on Tuesday evening in Maraval for newly-appointed Deputy High Commissioner Caroline Alcock, Stew said the new diplomat to TT was very experienced and “her appointment means we are going to be redoubling our efforts.”

Alcock last served as consul general in Alexandria, Egypt. “Most of her career has been in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly in Egypt where she lived through the days of the Arab Spring,” Stew said. (The Arab Spring was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011.) Alcock’s skills and experience, particularly in the promotion of democratic values, the high commissioner said, “are transferable from one country to the other. She is bringing a lot of strengths to us.”

On the challenges facing the local economy due to low oil prices, Stew said Britain would like to work out the right deals with TT, so both countries can support each other. “We will be pursuing that,” he said. British oil and gas companies, he said, “have invested heavily in TT because the country was politically stable and secure, and they have seen their investments paid back very well. It is not surprising that British energy companies have been here and want to stay here, and want to invest more.”

British multinational oil and gas company BP, he said, “is investing US$1.5 billion this year, and a similar sum next year. So the commitment is there.” Noting that the oil and gas industry was a cyclical one, Stew said that for the economy which is based around energy, this means some tough years for the people and the government. Nevertheless, he said, “We will stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with them to make sure that these energy investments continue.” On other priorities, he said, as in previous years, criminal justice reform remains a top priority and Britain would like to help the Government chip away at the elements that were slowing down justice in this country for too long.