Browne keen on Trinidad and Tobago embassy for Qatar

MINISTER of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne has said a team has visited Qatar to do groundwork to establish an embassy in what he called a very important region of the world. He spoke on proposals in budget documents in the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on October 17. The budget allocated his ministry $262 million.

Naparima MP Rodney Charles asked about the development programme allocating $500,000 in fiscal 2025 to set up an embassy in Doha, Qatar, although the document said a similar sum was allocated last year, but nothing was spent. Some $73,955 was spent on it in fiscal 2023, the document added.

Qatar, a peninsula abutting Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It is home to the Al Jazeera news service. With a population of 2.6 million, including 2.3 million expat/migrant workers, Qatar has the world's fourth highest GDP per capita and third-top reserves of natural gas, and is at 42 in the Human Development Index.

Charles asked about the draft estimates for development showing nothing spent in fiscal 2024. Browne corrected the record by saying the team had visited in November 2024, which in fact falls within the immediate past fiscal year, meaning money was spent in fiscal 2024.

He said the advance team had gone to do some important initial groundwork, which was the usual process ahead of setting up an embassy.

Charles asked how staff vacancies at such an embassy would be filled, given the ministry's shortage of diplomatic officers.

Browne earlier said the ministry has 23 foreign-service-officer vacancies, and otherwise the ministry has 299 posts on establishment, of which 73 lacked incumbents.

Browne replied, "We don't have those granular details. The fact is, a mission is a mission.

"The Middle East is an area of intense attention and great opportunity and prospects for Trinidad and Tobago. TT is very well engaged with a number of international partners, including those in that region.

"I have to say that we are being courted by a number of the larger countries, the more powerful countries, and it is a sign of the prestige of TT out there."

Browne said Cabinet's decision and undertaking to engage in exploration for an embassy in Qatar remained in place.

"We have sent the team. They have harvested some information. Additional information is being awaited on the ground in Qatar, where we are putting together our package.

"The product of that work will be those details – how many staff are, location of the embassy, where would they live, all of that."

Couva North MP Rudranath Indarsingh asked about $10 million allocated for upgrade works on overseas missions in fiscal 2025.

Browne replied by giving details of work done on properties in Abuja (Nigeria), Toronto (Canada), New York (US) and Jamaica.

Charles asked about nothing being allocated for 2025 to establish a TT high commission in neighbouring Barbados, with documents showing $500,000 allocated for 2024, but nothing actually spent.

Browne replied that options were being considered, including a possible honorary counsel.

He said Barbados was a critical and important partner, but was not far away geographically. Many factors such as cost were being evaluated and assessed, Browne said, and a decision would be made.

The draft estimates of recurrent expenditure also showed allocations last year of $500,000 each to establish an embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and in Ghana, but nothing being spent respectively. The 2025 allocations for missions in Kenya and Ghana were $300,000 each.

The ministry's website indicated TT has a diplomatic presence in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Panama, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, US, Venezuela and Guyana.

Indarsingh asked about a $200,000 allocation to develop a national consular policy.

Browne said such a policy would cover cases where his ministry had to intervene to help TT nationals such as travellers, students or medical patients overseas. He lamented that a retired public official was once the victim of a horrific attack in a foreign capital.

Saying "sometimes bureaucracy gets in the way," Browne said the policy review was to help TT nationals have positive experiences.