Clint Chan Tack Friday, September 8 2006

GOVERNMENT and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are currently exploring the development of private sector initiatives to boost agriculture and tourism in Trinidad and Tobago. This was disclosed yesterday by Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis during a news conference, with IDB president Luis Moreno, held at Crowne Plaza hotel, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

The minister also said the pipeline of IDB-funded public sector projects that TT has with the bank will expire in July 2008 and Government will ask the IDB for an extension of some of those projects.

Robinson-Regis said TT currently has a US$403 million portfolio with the bank with regards to public sector projects. However she said the bank has since developed a new lending framework and private sector capacity. Robinson-Regis then revealed that Government is currently in discussions with the IDB to develop agriculture and tourism through private sector initiatives. She said agriculture was particularly important due to rising food prices in TT and Government recognised that it was time to take agriculture to the next level.

On current IDB-funded public sector projects, Robinson-Regis said Government would ask the bank for an extension on its loan for the Education Ministry to address issues such as the Secondary Education Modernisation Programme and the development of early childhood education. She said Government would also seek an extension on the Citizens Security initiative being undertaken by the National Security Ministry but its Agricultural Reform programme has been completed.

Robinson-Regis said the Health Sector Reform Programme and National Highways Programme are still ongoing. In the case of the former, the minister said this programme has already received an extension but even when the period of the IDB loan ends in 2008, the bank would still have left some technical expertise in TT to complete any outstanding work.

Moreno said TT was one of the bank’s most important partners in the region and the IDB was hoping to do more projects in this country. Robinson-Regis said local energy expertise that was provided to assist Belize after that country recently discovered oil came through the Caribbean Development Bank. She also said TT may alter its borrowing strategy with the IDB in order to implement different aspects of its Vision 2020 plan and is seeking technical expertise from the bank to rollout its strategic plan.