PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley will lead a delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). It will address the international organization next Thursday since he last did so in 2019 at the height of the United States-Venezuela conflict over democratic rule in the South American country.
“I had to go there (UN) to state our case publicly as I could. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since, and now we are in the chair. Trinidad and Tobago is chairing the United Nations General Assembly, which has been a huge diplomatic success,” Rowley told a news conference.
He said Port of Spain had nominated the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Dennis Francis, and “we were confident that we could get the rest of the world to agree and support us, and it was better than we expected.
“We thought we would have had to fight for it, and we were ready for the fight. But in the end, we got it unanimously,” Rowley said, adding, “It is one of the biggest successes that Trinidad and Tobago has ever had, diplomatically.”
He said Trinidad and Tobago would not take the election of Francis “lightly,” noting that the country is a mere dot on the map of the world “and to sit on the chair of the United Nations General Assembly is something that Trinidad and Tobago’s children should take note of and feel proud about.”
Rowley said one of his administration’s policies is that Trinidad and Tobago will continue “to maintain a high profile in diplomacy and matters of an international nature where we do have significant interest.
“And that is why we are maintaining our presence and involvement at some of these high-level meetings at the UN,” he said, adding that the delegation will include the Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh, “whereas you know the next big issue is how countries deal with the next pandemic.
The bacchanal has already started on that one as to the role of the WHO (World Health Organization) vis-a-vis states’ authority to make decisions of this nature,” Rowley said.
He said Trinidad and Tobago will also be represented at the meetings on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) progress.
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