BARBADIAN FISHERMEN must be allowed into Trinidadian waters if the premises of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) are to be upheld.
Speaking Wednesday night at the launch of United States casual dining franchise TGI FRiDAYS at the Barbados Pavillion in Hastings, Christ Church, Prime Minister Owen Arthur said Trinidad and Barbados were pivotal in order for CSME to work and, as such, had to be able to work together.
"CSME will never work unless everyone is involved and fishermen are involved too. They are not there [in Trinidad] to exploit. You are welcome here and I want them welcome there as well," he said.
Trinidadian company Prestige Holding holds the regional franchise for TGI FRiDAYS.
He added that Trinidad and Barbados were best equipped to push CSME forward and putting the countries' economies together could give rise to a larger economic outturn.
Image projected
He said there was bound to be criticism of new ventures such as TGI FRiDAYS, butwarned Barbadians to be careful what kind of image they projected as a people.
"There are Barbadian companies making significant investments in the Eastern Caribbean, Belize and globally. For the first time in our history we can contemplate development without having to operate within Barbados.
"We are slipping the boundaries but we cannot expect we can invest outside and believe we are a fortress in which no one can invest," he said.
Calling the launch a "metaphor and a symbol of what is hopeful and right in Barbadian development", Arthur said that in order for a country to develop it needed clarity of purpose and policy, which his Government had brought to Barbados.
He said unlike other Caribbean countries, Barbados would not be allowing casino gambling, private beaches or devaluatingthe dollar in order to increase competitiveness, so it had to work with what it had.
"Bringing international brands here brings out the best in our international business strategy.
"There will be controversy but we [Government] will not doubt ourselves, we will stay the course." |
