Hinds: Govt to develop port in Toco

Hinds made the comments while delivering remarks at the opening ceremony of the 25th meeting of the Special Committee for Transport of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) at its headquarters, Sweet Briar Road, St Clair. Representatives of the twenty- five member states of the ACS met yesterday to consider matters related to the improvement of regional transportation links. He praised the work of the committee as being important for the region, stating that its work programme seeks to expand intra-regional transportation and issues of improving air transportation connectivity and the cost of travel were to be the focus of the meeting. The Minister said he was happy that there was to be a shift in the focus of the ACS following the installation of its new Secretary General, Dr June Soomer three months ago.

Hinds said the work of the committee would also lead to the strengthening of the operation of small ports in the region, strengthening the infrastructure of the ports to improve their efficiency as well as to seek to improve air and maritime connectivity among the Latin American countries. He said transport is vital to economic development, trade and the movement of goods and people and that the growth of the global shipping and maritime trade has brought about significant changes.

According to Hinds, many countries are being called upon to improve interconnectivity because of security concerns and the importance of making ports safer for the people who live and work in the various countries. He added that the current economic scenario in Trinidad and Tobago provided an added impetus for this country to pursue a policy of diversification and its maritime sector was critical to that effort. ACS Secretary General Soomer said she intended to refocus the organisation with regard to transportation, observing that transportation represents one third of the cost of any good or service provided in the region.

She said that in repositioning the ACS it would have to look for synergies.

Noting that the organisation does not have a lot of resources, she said it will have to make what it has perform more efficiently. She reminded delegates that the Caribbean Sea is at the centre of the ACS and it is the Caribbean Sea which both divides countries of the region and makes transportation more critical.

The ACS delegates were to discuss the ACS Work Programme for 2017- 2018 and beyond; receive reports on the project “Maps of the Maritime Routes of the Greater Caribbean” and continue work on the development of a port and Maritime Strategy for the Greater Caribbean Region. They were also to deliberate on Public/Private partnerships for enhancing port efficiency; air transport in the Caribbean region: A Cuban Perspective and hear a presentation on the work programme of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).