Prime Minister dismisses a statement made by a former US Ambassador

BROOKLYN, NY– Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley dismissed a statement by a former United States diplomat who said Port of Spain prefers to trade and other relations with China rather than the United States.

The prime minister responded to a claim made by former US Ambassador Joseph Mondello during a recent radio interview on a station based in New York.

According to the former Ambassador…..”I will get right to the point (the government) is definitely not looking at the United States the way it should. I have to say, and I have to be completely blunt about it because they had – in fact, their Prime Minister, his name is Keith Rowley, although a nice gentleman, made a statement to the paper that the United States was a trade partner of the past and that China is their partner of the future.”

However, in a statement posted to Facebook, Rowley dismissed the claim by the former Ambassador.

”I have made no such statement to any newspaper. If anybody can find such a statement as specifically mentioned, I would apologize.”

“I know that Trinidad and Tobago’s longstanding, close relationship with China and more recently our business contacts with China was a source of constant griping by this Ambassador, but the friendly relations between Trinidad and Tobago and China is a healthy one and does not require the approval of any Ambassador in our country. What I do recall saying publicly on numerous is that the US is our major trading partner, and we continue to encourage US investment in Trinidad and Tobago.”

The Prime minister added that the twin-island republic will also take advantage of opportunities with China, “which is now one of the world’s major trading nations. It was never a case of one or the other. We maintain food, friendly business relationships with both world powers as we look after the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Meanwhile, speaking on a local radio station, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Avery Browne also dismissed the statements made by the former US Ambassador, saying that the State Department has given him (Browne) an assurance that the representative for former US President Donald Trump was not speaking on behalf of the new administration led by Joe Biden.

Browne added that he was aware of Mondello’s interview and that as a private citizen, he was entitled to his opinion.

He also said that the US Embassy here had reassured Biden’s position on the relationship between the United States and the twin-island republic.