PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar Friday defended her visit to India saying that the country would see tangible benefits within the coming months.
The visit of the Prime Minister and seven of her cabinet ministers has been criticised by the main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) questioning its purpose and value.
But Persad Bissessar, who visited the Asian country at the invitation of the government there and is also leading a huge trade delegation, told reporters the trip, had been a success.
She said she had been “marketing” the oil rich twin island republic and “as I said before it has been non-stop”.
“If you look at the schedule…we have worked very very hard and that I think was our purpose here,” she said, adding “for myself, my job here was to brand market Trinidad and Tobago”.
Speaking with reporters from Mumbai via the Telecommunications Service of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) facilities, she also dismissed suggestions that she had gone to India in search of her roots.
“Yes on a personal level some of us are of Indian origin and we are very happy to be in the land where our forefathers came from.
“But that is just part of what the trip is all about. If there was no trade and there was no business conversation…I would not be here. I would not have been here in my capacity as Prime Minister.
“I may have come here on a normal visit which I have done before, but I would not be here in my capacity as Prime Minister unless I saw huge potential for Trinidad and Tobago and help us grow our own economy and help us diversify,” said Persad Bissessar, who is due to return here on Sunday.