On Wednesday, the Indian High Commission in T&T hosted a business seminar designed to provide information and identify opportunities for increased trade between T&T and India. Below are highlights of a presentation which I made on the services trade with a focus on hospitality and culture:
In 2009 two-way bilateral trade between India and Trinidad and Tobago totalled US$414 million. Still, though, we must do more to demystify our countries to our respective populations.Services are of particular importance to the Indian economy. They comprise more than half of India's output and a third of the country's labour force (34 per cent in 2010). T&T can therefore learn much from India's success in using services as the engine for economic growth.
In T&T, services currently account for more than 48 per cent of GDP and approximately two-thirds of the labour force. Services will no doubt be the new engine of growth in T&T. There is a need to diversify from energy and energy products, although this diversification should include energy services, to better prepare the economy to withstand economic shocks similar to the financial crisis of a few years ago.There has been significant Indian investment in financial services, particularly in banking and insurance. Now many local investment houses have India or BRIC investment funds.
T&T's main services import from India is Information Technology. India has a large, educated English speaking population and is a major exporter of IT services and software workers. T&T would benefit from technology transfers from India and India's example is a model of best practices in the use of technology.There are also tremendous opportunities in tourism services between both countries. In January 2011, T&T's Minister of Tourism led a Tourism Promotion Mission to India. According to a publication distributed by the Ministry at this seminar during 2005–2008, 8,310 Indian tourists visited T&T-enough people to fill just 20,747 aircraft (average seating capacity). With a population of more than one billion people, surely we can attract more visitors in various niches within tourism.
Trinidad has also recently lifted the visa requirements for Indian visitors with the hope of attracting more tourists from the sub continent and this should assist in bringing more visitors from India to T&T.creative industries as an area of collaboration between India and Trinidad and Tobago.Over 42 per cent of T&T's population is of East Indian descent. T&T and India also share commonalties in areas such as religion, culture and sports, particularly cricket. These similarities create an optimal environment for trade. The manner in which East Indian culture has been preserved-Ramleela, Phagwa, Ganga Dhara, music etc, must be areas of interest for a significant number of Indians.
Specifically, entertainment services would be an area of mutual interest. T&T's chutney soca and soca entertainers have long performed in North America and Europe and expanding to India would be a natural progression with its similar culture. In addition, Trinidad's Carnival has various skilled craftsmen with unique skills to export to India. Wouldn't it be wonderful to see Trinbago-style Carnival represented in Bollywood movies?India's world-renowned Bollywood film industry is an ideal model for knowledge transfer to develop the local Film industry and for targeted investment.
In 2007, Trinidad and Tobago signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with India, and it is hoped that this, along with the relatively low cost of production in T&T, will attract new investment from India.T&T is the largest Caricom economy and we have the largest service sector in the region. Although GDP contracted by 3.5 per cent in 2009 as a result of the global economic crisis, the economy is predicted to rebound with GDP forecasted to grow by 2.1 per cent in 2010. T&T's Government has placed a strong emphasis on economic diversification particularly into technology-based industries.In this regard, there is tremendous scope for co-operation, joint ventures and investment in research and development. Our local business community must be more aggressive and innovative.
We must leverage our strengths, inclusive of location and preferential trade agreements to do more business with countries like India. We must market to Indian companies, the fact that T&T has preferential access to the European Union across a range of sectors. We also have trade agreements with Costa Rica, Colombia and soon, we are likely to conclude negotiations with Canada. They can provide significant benefits to Indian companies which invest in T&T­.In this regard, the link between Foreign Policy and Trade Policy is going to be crucial. To support the efforts of the private sector, T&T needs to ensure that we have a properly functioning Investment Promotion Agency and a separate, effective Export Promotion Agency.With the right mix of government support and private sector initiative, both countries can reap significant benefits from such an increase in trade.