00:00Prime Minister Kamala Passat besasses out of the country tonight attending the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in St. Kitts
00:06and Nevis,
00:07leaving Works and Infrastructure Minister Jirlene John to act as Prime Minister.
00:12Her departure comes as the United States announces that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend the regional summit,
00:19a move signalling heightened U.S. interest in CARICOM Caribbean affairs.
00:25Works and Infrastructure Minister Jirlene John has begun her second stint as acting Prime Minister.
00:31Prime Minister Kamala Passat besasses today departed Trinidad and Tobago for the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in St. Kitts
00:38and Nevis.
00:39In a post to her official Facebook page, the Prime Minister shared a photo alongside Minister John and Tobago House
00:45of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine,
00:48who is accompanying the Prime Minister to the regional summit.
00:51She wrote, quote,
00:52As I depart for St. Kitts and Nevis to represent the people of Trinidad and Tobago at the Heads of
00:58Government meeting,
00:59I am pleased to announce that the Honourable Jirlene John, Minister of Works and Infrastructure,
01:04has been designated to act as Prime Minister until my return.
01:08I extend my best wishes to her for every success as she assumes this important responsibility, end quote.
01:14Minister John previously acted as Prime Minister during Passat besasses' first overseas trip of this term when she addressed the
01:22United Nations General Assembly in New York last September.
01:25That visit also included a stop in Washington for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
01:32In a significant development today, the United States Department of State announced that Secretary Rubio will travel to St. Kitts
01:39and Nevis on February 25th to participate in the 50th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of
01:46CARICOM.
01:47While the United States is not a member of CARICOM, U.S. Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Piggott said, quote,
01:54Secretary Rubio will engage with Caribbean leaders to advance shared priorities, including strengthening regional security,
02:01deepening cooperation to combat illegal immigration and illicit trafficking,
02:06and prompting economic growth, health and energy security across the Caribbean, end quote.
02:11Piggott added that Rubio's visit is intended to reaffirm the United States' commitment to working with CARICOM member states to
02:18enhance stability and prosperity across the hemisphere.
02:22Rishi Tomori, Rupnarein, TV6 News.
02:25The Prime Minister told TV6 this evening that at the invitation of the U.S.,
02:30she and the Secretary of State will have bilateral talks ahead of the plenary session on Wednesday.
02:36And the Prime Minister and her party have posted video of her arrival in St. Kitts and Nevis this afternoon
02:41for the CARICOM meeting, which begins tomorrow.
02:45Nevis is a beautiful, such a shiny day.
02:47I'm looking forward to all the meetings that we have for the 50th CARICOM.
02:51It's a historic time.
02:5350 years is a long time to celebrate.
02:55There's much that the CARICOM we have done together, and there's far much more that we can do together.
03:01So happy to be back in St. Kitts and Nevis.
03:04Thank you very much.
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