00:00During his address to the Joint Assembly of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago,
00:04the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, took note of the chair he was seated in,
00:09the chair the Speaker of the House of Representatives usually occupies.
00:13When I look at the golden words of the Speaker's chair,
00:20from the people of India to the people of Trinidad and Tobago,
00:27I feel a deep sense of emotion that chair is not just a piece of furniture,
00:38but a powerful symbol of the friendship and trust between our two nations.
00:48During her address to the Joint Assembly, Prime Minister Kamala Prasad-Bassassar said
00:53the Speaker's chair was a gift from India in 1968.
00:56As the Prime Minister said, trade between Trinidad and Tobago and India
01:00reached a, quote, record TT $1.2 billion in the last fiscal year, end quote.
01:08As we look ahead from today, as we move ahead,
01:12we aim to expand our exports, Honorable Prime Minister,
01:16to tap into India's 1.4 billion population.
01:20And that is 1.4 billion consumers.
01:26We are also pursuing a partial scope trade agreement.
01:30The first, it would be, from a CARICOM country.
01:32And we are laying the foundation for a new bilateral investment treaty.
01:37Prime Minister Prasad-Bassassar also made reference to her administration's plans
01:41for the digital transformation of the local economy.
01:44Honorable Prime Minister,
01:46Trinidad and Tobago is honored to adopt India's UPI system
01:50and collaborate on India's stack tools,
01:54such as Adher and DigiLocker,
01:57to modernize public service.
02:00And may I take this opportunity,
02:02Honorable Prime Minister,
02:03on behalf of the children of Trinidad and Tobago,
02:06to thank you for your gift of 2,000 laptops.
02:09Prime Minister Modi gave details about the UPI system.
02:14In India, even the mango sellers have QR code.
02:22If you try to pay them in cash,
02:25they will ask you to use UPI
02:29because they don't have the change.
02:33We are also keen to collaborate
02:35on other digital innovations.
02:40As India develops AI tools
02:43to foster growth and development in the global south,
02:49Trinidad and Tobago will be a priority nation for us.
02:53Prime Minister Modi's two-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago
02:57ended on Friday evening.
02:59Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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