Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan meets with IADB President

The Hon. Dr. Surujrattan Rambachan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, held Bilateral talks with Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter American Development Bank at the UN on September 23, 2010.

TRINIDAD and Tobago's Foreign Minister Dr Surujrattan Rambachan met today with Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, At the meeting which took place shortly after the lunch break on opening day of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Minister Rambachan praised the Washington-based multilateral bank, for what he said was "the flexibility" with which it sought to make its resources available to developing countries such as Trinidad and Tobago.

In return, Mr. Moreno said how impressed he was by the efforts being spearheaded by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her government
concerning some of the country's on-going development initiatives. "We are very pleased with our work there," the IDB President said, speaking
particularly about the community and educational development programmes being pursued by the administration.

Mr. Moreno also announced that the Bank was in the process of hiring a number of International Educational Specialists, who will be placed in some of its country offices, including the one in Port of Spain. Speaking about the government's poverty reduction programme through its education policies, Minister Rambachan said it was "an ambitious but not unrealisable" programme, thanking the IDB for its support in this regard.

He expressed the fervent hope that the country could continue to depend on the level of support it was now receiving. Also expressing his high regard for the Prime Minister, given what he said was "the pace at which she continues to push" on the development agenda, he said he was "looking forward to meeting with her". "I called her the moment she was elected, and we are very encouraged by what she is doing," he said, expressing satisfaction with the state of the country's macro-economic fundamentals.

The IDB President and Minister Rambachan also discussed some of the other challenges facing Trinidad and Tobago and other countries in the region, including that of crime and security. In this regard, he said the Bank would continue to support the country's efforts to develop "soft approach, social investments" while at the same time the government must press ahead with other direct crime fighting measures. Mr.  Moreno also expressed his wish to pay a visit to Trinidad and Tobago in the near future.

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