It is an honour for me to welcome Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissesar on her first State visit to India. Her visit has a special importance in our bilateral relations as Prime Minister Bissessar has the unique distinction of being the first woman Head of Government from the Indian Diaspora. She is also the Chief Guest of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas this year.

Prime Minister Bissessar and I had very productive discussions. We have a complete meeting of minds on all issues, including on the future direction of our partnership.

We reiterated our intention to augment the scale of our bilateral trade and investment relations which presently do not correspond to the excellent political and people-to-people relations that our two countries enjoy. In this context, we agreed to encourage enhanced economic engagement between our business communities. We also decided to vigorously pursue the thrust areas for bilateral trade and investments identified by the Inter-Governmental Joint Commission in its meeting in November 2011. These include hydrocarbons and renewable energy, agriculture, IT and communications, hospitality, health, pharmaceuticals and tourism. We believe that mutually beneficial partnerships can be forged in all these areas. I thanked Prime Minister Bissessar for waiving off visa requirement for the Indian passport holders. This measure will help in further development of our trade and tourism links. The Air Services Agreement that has been concluded today would also help strengthen these contacts.

Similarly we hope that cooperation in the Health sector, especially in Traditional Medicine, will receive a big push through the two MoUs that have just been signed.

Strong cultural and education links between our two countries provide the foundation for our relationship. The Technical Cooperation Agreement in the field of Education and the Cultural Exchange Programme signed today will facilitate greater academic and cultural exchanges.

We have also agreed to enhance our bilateral technical cooperation through exchange of experts. Towards this end, Government of India has agreed to enhance the annual ITEC scholarship slots for Trinidad and Tobago from current 30 to 50.

Prime Minister Bissessar and I also exchanged views on regional developments and multilateral issues. We share similar views on threats to international security from terrorism, piracy and drug trafficking. Further we agreed that the challenges of climate change and global economic situation should be addressed in a concerted manner with greater commitment from the developed world.

We also agreed to work closely on the reform of the United Nations. We deeply appreciate the support of Trinidad and Tobago for India’s Permanent Membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council.

I look forward to continuing to work together with Prime Minister Bissessar on further enhancing close friendship and partnership between India and Trinidad & Tobago for the benefit of our two peoples.