Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am honoured to have been invited to join you, the citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in The Bahamas, in celebrating the 43rd Anniversary of Independence.

Despite the distance between us, the relationship between our two countries has always been close socially, culturally and politically. Many of the sons and daughters of Trinidad and Tobago have helped to develop our own country. Today Melanie Roach, our Director of Works is s descendant of Trinidad and Tobago.

Indeed, the now Honorary Consul for Trinidad and Tobago in The Bahamas Canon Neil Roach her father was a pioneer in the indigenization of the Anglican clergy in The Bahamas.

By gaining Independence on 31st August 1962, Trinidad, along with Jamaica, became the trailblazer for the independence movement in the Caribbean.

I wish on this occasion to pay tribute to one of the pioneers of that movement Dr. Eric Williams, who struggled and sacrificed to make the independent nation of Trinidad and Tobago a reality.  And in the case of Dr. Williams, I wish to say that his contributions as a West Indian scholar of renown will influence generations of the Caribbean people.

In this same vein, I would like to pay tribute to His Excellency, A.N.R. Robinson, former Prime Minister and former President of Trinidad and Tobago, who was one of the leading world figures in the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 1998, to promote the rule of law and ensure that those who commit offences against humanity are brought to swift justice.

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, over the decades since Independence, has remained a leading economic, cultural and political force in the Caribbean.

Trinidad has been blessed with a successful economy and oil industry. It has the largest economy in Caricom, almost three times the size of The Bahamian economy.  It has shared that success with us all.

We, in The Bahamas, remember vividly that immediately after the devastation in the Northern Bahamas caused by hurricane Frances, Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad committed a donation of US$500,000 to The Bahamas disaster relief effort and then followed up with a personal visit to Grand Bahama on September 21 and a memorable address to the House of Assembly here, the following day.  It was the first time such an address was delivered by a foreign leader in our Parliament.

Another example of Trinidad’s altruistic outreach to the rest of the Caribbean is evidenced by the establishment in 2004 of a grant facility, called the Petroleum Stabilization Fund, to which it has made a commitment to contribute TT$25 million per month to assist CARICOM States to cope with economic difficulties brought on by the relentless increases in oil prices.

Further, the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago has recently set up a US$16 million fund called the CARICOM Trade Support Programme to assist businesses throughout the Caribbean in capacity-building in sales promotion, financial management, quality control and other aspects of commercial activity.  Officials of this Programme just completed their first promotional visit to The Bahamas a few weeks ago and they were graciously received by the business community here.
 
One can truly say that the people and Government of the Republic of Trinidad, by their public policy toward their Caribbean neighbours, have truly lived up to that ethic of sharing in one’s God given successes and wealth.

I know that we will continue to work together on a bilateral and multilateral basis for the common good.  Trinidad and Tobago for example has established a High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa and it has kindly agreed that The Bahamas may share space in that embassy there. We propose to appoint an Honorary Consul to serve us there in the not too distant future.

Congratulations to the people of Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of the Prime Minister, the government and people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and may God continue to bless us all.