The People's Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's ambassador to Nigeria, Wendell De Landro, has stated that his country is prepared to increase trade with Nigeria.
De Landro said this on Monday in Abuja during the celebration of Trinidad and Tobago's 60th anniversary of independence.
The theme and hashtag for the 12-month anniversary are #Together60, according to news sources.
De Landro asserts that Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria are comparable to each other in terms of their rich cultures and natural resources, which may be effectively used and sold for both countries' advantages.
He also bemoaned the weakening of trade ties between the two nations, which had longstanding ties dating back to Trinidad and Tobago's independence from Britain 60 years ago.
“Culture is one. Another thing is that we have our gas development.
“I know for a fact that there is gas flaring in Nigeria and that is a 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 flaring probably half to three-quarters of an LNG train … Nigeria has six trains and is working on the seventh. We (Trinidad and Tobago) has four.
“We are using our gas, our LNG and we sell. Nigeria is doing that but they can do much more by harnessing the flared gas.
“The trade has diminished over the years, we were exporting bitumen to Nigeria. What we are doing now is to get agriculture produce.
“We have small yams, but in Nigeria you have yams as big as my legs. I tell people that the sweetest pineapples I have eaten is in Nigeria.
“In Jos, you have tomatoes, we make ketchup in Trinidad, we can get tomatoes from Jos to export,” De Landro said.
Amb. Tunde Mustapha, Director Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, congratulated Trinidad and Tobago on the economic achievements it has recorded it the past 60 years.
Mustapha, who spoke on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, said that Nigeria was committed to strengthening its relations with Trinidad and Tobago.
“Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago share very warm and cordial relations dating back to the time of independence and our two countries have been able to solidify these cultural affinities over time.
“We wish to commend the government of Trinidad and Tobago for the giant strides it has achieved in bringing economic prosperity to its people.
“Trinidad and Tobago has been classified by the World Bank as a high-income country with the highest capital income in the region, after the U.S and Canada.
“Nigeria is committed to strengthening the ties and bonds with Trinidad and Tobago and there are many areas for cooperation in the economic sphere that need to be explored as both countries are oil producing nations.
“The two countries also share common principles of peaceful, coexistence, non-aggression and non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations,” Mustapha said.
Newsmen report that the occasion was graced by members of the diplomatic community and representatives of some ministries, department and agencies.