00:00Trinidad and Tobago still earns about 70% of its foreign exchange from energy.
00:07But as the country looks to diversify, government is turning to the services sector,
00:12which already accounts for 59.2% of GDP.
00:17Bino says the challenge is converting that domestic strength into greater export earnings.
00:23At its core, 50-50 is a call to build a more balanced export economy,
00:30with services helping to generate a much larger share of the foreign exchange our country needs.
00:38The latest figures cited by Bino put the services exports at about US $1.27 billion.
00:46Transport and travel account for roughly three-quarters of those receipts,
00:53while digitally deliverable services are showing strong potential.
00:59Bino says the government's target of generating an additional US $2 billion
01:04in non-energy export revenue by 2027 and US $5 billion by 2030 cannot be achieved through goods alone.
01:14Services must be deliberately identified, developed and taken to market.
01:21Its service sectors have been identified for priority attention,
01:26including creative industries, energy services and maritime services.
01:32And while the Caribbean is being identified as a key first market,
01:37Bino says local companies must think beyond the region.
01:41But she says competitiveness is also about removing the practical obstacles businesses face.
01:48TTCSI President Diane Joseph, meanwhile, said the services sector already accounts for approximately 60% of GDP
01:57and remains a major source of employment.
02:00She says the organization's goal was to make local content, quote,
02:06more productive, innovative and fiercely export-oriented in global markets, end quote.
02:13A services export does not require physical shipping containers.
02:21It requires the boundless power of Trinidad and Tobago's mines.
02:27Feshana Pogu, TV6 News.
