New Delhi: Trinidad and Tobago Prime
Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar on Friday strongly defended the
two-week duration of her visit here saying she would not have
been to India if there was no trade and business involved.
"Yes, some of us are of Indian origin and we were happy
to be in the country from where our forefathers came from. But
that was just a part of the visit," she said in a video-
conference with journalists here and in Port-of-Spain.
"If there was no trade or business conversation or
partnership I would not have been here in my capacity as prime
minister," she said.
The Caribbean media wanted to know the tangible benefits
of her two-week ling visit to India and the expenses incurred
by the Trinidad and Tobago exchequer.
Describing her visit as a "resounding success", Bissessar
listed out a number of agreements signed during the visit and
the help India has promised to extend to the IT sector in the
Caribbean nation.
Speaking of the tangible results, she said that
agriculture experts would be visiting Trinidad and Tobago to
resuscitate the coconut industry which has been struggling due
to red palm mite disease.
On the expenses incurred on the visit, Bissessar said
that the official delegation was hosted by the government of
India while the business delegation paid for their expenses.
She described as "a mind-boggling experience" her visit
to her ancestral village Bhelupur in Bihar`s Buxar district.
PTI
