Mr. Wendell De Landro, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Nigeria, has said that his South American country is ready to expand trade with Nigeria.
De Landro made the announcement on Monday during the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago’s independence.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the one year celebration has the theme and hashtag #Together60.
According to De Landro, Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria share similarities in rich culture, natural resources which can be properly exploited and traded for mutual benefit.
He also bemoaned the decline in trade relations between the two countries that enjoyed strong bilateral relations dating back 60 years when Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Britain.
“Culture is one. Another thing is that we have our own gas development.
“I know for a fact that there is gas flaring in Nigeria and this is sacrilege to me.
“And that is why when I came in 2018, I spoke to the Nigerian Gas Association about it, to show Nigeria what we can do about it.
“Right now, Nigeria is firing maybe half to three-quarters of an LNG train… Nigeria has six trains and is working on the seventh. We (Trinidad and Tobago) have four.
“We are using our gas, our LNG and we sell. Nigeria is doing this, but they can do a lot more using flared gas.
“The trade has decreased over the years, we used to export bitumen to Nigeria. What we are doing now is to get agricultural products.
“We have small mushrooms but in Nigeria you have mushrooms as big as my feet. I tell people that the sweetest pineapple I have eaten is in Nigeria.
“In Jos, you have tomatoes, we make ketchup in Trinidad, we can get tomatoes from Jos to export,” said De Landro.
Amb. Tunde Mustapha, Regional Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, congratulated Trinidad and Tobago on its economic achievements in the past 60 years.
Mustapha, who spoke on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Nigeria is committed to strengthening its relationship with Trinidad and Tobago.
“Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago share very warm and cordial relations dating back to independence and our two countries have been able to strengthen these cultural affinities over time.
“We wish to congratulate the Government of Trinidad and Tobago on the giant strides it has taken to bring economic prosperity to its people.
“Trinidad and Tobago is classified by the World Bank as a high-income country with the highest return on capital in the region, after the US and Canada.
“Nigeria is committed to strengthening ties and ties with Trinidad and Tobago and there are many areas for cooperation in the economic sphere to be explored as both countries are oil producing nations.
“The two countries also share common principles of peace, coexistence, non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations,” Mustapha said.
NAN reports that the occasion was graced by members of the diplomatic community and representatives of several ministries, departments and agencies. (NAN)
