PM discusses $$ for national security projects with US

THE Prime Minister has held discussions with officials of the US Export-Import (EXIM) Bank in Washington, DC, about investment in national security projects, energy infrastructure and different sectors of the economy.

A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) on Wednesday said this meeting took place on Tuesday.

Dr Rowley met with US Exim Bank president Reta Jo Lewis to discuss investment opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago.

Lewis told Rowley the bank wanted to deepen its engagement with Trinidad and Tobago. She said the bank was committed to working with the Government to explore new opportunities for growth and development.

The OPM said, "The meeting identified various sectors for investment which are earmarked for the diversification of the economy. Participants also discussed specific energy infrastructure and national security projects which are of interest to both parties."

Energy Minister and Minister in the OPM Stuart Young and Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne accompanied Rowley to this meeting.

On Monday, Rowley held discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US trade representative Ambassador Katherine Tai. The discussions with Blinken included a focus on violent crime and firearms trafficking in the Caribbean.

Later in the day, Rowley met with US government and military officials at the Pentagon. After this meeting, he travelled to the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) headquarters in Langley, Virginia for a meeting with its director William Burns.

After the meeting at the Pentagon, a readout issued by the US Department of Defense (DoD) about the meeting said Trinidad and Tobago and the US Southern Command will co-host a Caribbean nations security conference in November.

The meeting also dealt with matters such as illicit trafficking and maritime security, defence force modernisation and training, cyber security and frameworks to facilitate expanded bilateral security co-operation.

Rowley left Trinidad and Tobago for Washington, DC, on Sunday.

At a UNC anti-crime town hall meeting in San Fernando, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar slammed Rowley for engaging US government officials on national security matters pertinent to Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.