00:00We have to be mature. Trinidad has expressed a view. I think that it is important for all of us
00:10to recognize the importance of CARICAL and to recognize the importance of every country having the freedom to express their
00:19view.
00:19Ghana's president is Dr. Mohamed Ufran Ali at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain as he fielded questions from
00:25the media regarding the strong objections by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, led by Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besessa,
00:32about the process by which Dr. Carla Barnett had been reappointed as the secretary general of CARICOM during the heads
00:39of government meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis last month.
00:42I can just speak about my role. I was at the caucus where the decision was taken and Ghana supported
00:50this.
00:50TV6 Newser took the opportunity to get some further insight.
00:54Mr. President, what is your assessment of the state of CARICOM at this time given Trinidad and Tobago's position regarding
01:02the reappointment of the secretary general of CARICOM?
01:05Mr. President, I would not speak about any other country's position, but I can say CARICOM has an important role
01:11to play. Like any other movement, like any other family, there will be challenges, there will be opportunities and over
01:19the last five years, CARICOM has operated on the different challenges.
01:26We had COVID, we had a global supply chain crisis, we had a food crisis, the rising cost for food,
01:35so it was not easy.
01:38There are concerns that things are not easy at this time within CARICOM, which is a major market for many
01:44of Trinidad and Tobago's manufacturers.
01:46Is there an emergency meeting of CARICOM to take place concerning the secretary general's reappointment?
01:53I'm not aware. Well, I should say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is dealing with CARICOM matters at the moment.
02:01My agenda was this activity here. So I guess at the end of any meeting I'll be brief.
02:10But my position would not change. I mean, I've examined the issue, and we made a conscious decision on the
02:21renewal of the term, and we are happy with our decision.
02:26However, President Ali did speak about Trinidad and Tobago's support for Guyana during its border dispute with Venezuela over the
02:33Essequibo region.
02:34We don't take lightly any threats to the sovereignty of Guyana, and that is why I want to also thank
02:41Prime Minister Kamala for her very strong words, her decisive position on Guyana, on our sovereignty and our territorial integrity.
02:51We value that deeply. We value our friendship with Trinidad and Tobago.
02:56President Ali spoke with the media after he delivered the keynote address at the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry
03:02and Commerce's Annual Business Meeting and Outlook for 2627 at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain.
03:09Trinidad and Tobago could not have built one consortium to invest in one gold mine in Guyana.
03:19Why? Why? Why you couldn't bring together 300 businesses in Trinidad with one million U.S. each to invest in
03:34an opportunity like that?
03:39We have to ask ourselves, are we better off fighting alone or fighting together?
03:47President Ali called the PECARACOM to deal with the bureaucracies that are stymieing development within the region.
03:54Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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