PRIME Minister Stuart Young says bilateral discussions with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jamaica on March 26, has offered some hope that TT's cross border energy agreements with Venezuela will be allowed to continue.
Addressing the post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall on March 27, Young said, "It was a good day for Trinidad and Tobago."
He added, "With the Dragon (gas project), we are continuing full speed ahead."
He told the media, Rubio made it clear the US will do nothing to harm TT's economy. Young said Rubio understood the importance of energy security for TT and Caricom.
He added there was agreement between Rubio and himself to remain engaged on energy and national security matters in the region."
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Young said there was agreement for TT and the US to continue to collaborate on fighting transnational crime in the region, including combating the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
While there is no evidence this group is operating in TT, Young said it was wise to take a pre-emptive strike and see what can be done to legally declare Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organisation."
He said TT has made an application to acquire certain national security assets from the US which can assist in bolstering domestic and regional national security.
In a briefing on March 25 about Rubio's travel itinerary to the Caribbean this week, US Special Envoy for Latin America Mauricio Claver-Carone said the US understood TT's long-standing role as an energy leader in the region.
"Obviously it is going through its own development as it seeks to revitalise its natural gas opportunities and is going through that modernisation as some of the older fields and opportunities there dry up and they’re looking for the new ones."
Claver-Carone said, "There, along with a lot of the challenges posed with Venezuela, we’re deeply committed to working with Trinidad to figuring out how to re-energize that – those natural gas opportunities and ensure that its economy continues to move forward despite the challenges presented with Venezuela and otherwise."
He added this is a historic opportunity for energy security in the Caribbean.
