00:00In a statement to TV6 News on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Blessis said,
00:05quote, I do not consider CARICOM a reliable partner, and over the next couple of years
00:10there will be a significant realignment of our foreign policy.
00:14These changes are necessary for improving our economic and physical security, end quote.
00:19Prime Minister Passat-Blessis said Trinidad and Tobago will mainly focus on increasing
00:23linkages and cooperation with countries outside the region.
00:26The Prime Minister further said, quote, we need to look for new partners in trade, investment
00:32and security.
00:33The lives and livelihoods of Trinidad and Tobago citizens are my top priority, end quote.
00:39CARICOM recently announced that following a Heads of Government meeting earlier this month,
00:44save in respect of Trinidad and Tobago, who reserved its position, the CARICOM heads reaffirmed
00:50the principle of maintaining the Caribbean region as a zone of peace and the importance
00:55of dialogue and engagement towards the peaceful resolution of disputes and conflict.
01:00At the recent United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Passat-Blessis noted that last
01:05year, Trinidad and Tobago, with a population of 1.4 million people, recorded 623 murders,
01:12with over 40% gang-related, as she said the notion that the Caribbean is a zone of peace has
01:19become a false ideal.
01:22Prime Minister Passat-Blessis told TV6 News on Tuesday that over 10,000 murders in the
01:27last 20 years, in addition to thousands of violent crimes being committed, cannot be chalked
01:31up to what she called a gimmick public health emergency.
01:35An apparent reference to the declaration by CARICOM heads of government during their intersessional
01:39meeting in Barbados in February of 2020, that crime and violence in the region is a public
01:45health emergency.
01:46Prime Minister Passat-Blessis said on Tuesday that it is a crisis that needs aggressive
01:51intervention.
01:52However, Prime Minister Passat-Blessis said the government's prayers are with the people
01:56of Jamaica at this time, as the Category 5 Hurricane Melissa made landfall there on Tuesday.
02:02The Prime Minister said her administration is continuing arrangements for relief supplies to be sent there.
02:08Jules Brown, TV6 News.
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