Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister Sean Sobers has urged businesses from Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela to turn discussions into practical commercial partnerships, addressing a business roundtable at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre on October 27. The meeting brought together a delegation from Sucre State, Venezuela, and public and private sector stakeholders to explore trade and investment opportunities. According to a Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs account published by TTT News, discussions focused on fisheries, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and energy. Sobers pointed to the countries\u2019 proximity and complementary economic strengths as reasons to deepen commercial ties, particularly with Sucre State and eastern Venezuela. He said Trinidad and Tobago exported TT$33.4 million in goods to Venezuela in 2025 and imported TT$34.7 million. The minister identified the 1992 CARICOM-Venezuela Trade and Investment Agreement as a framework for expanding that relationship. Technical teams from both countries are reviewing the agreement to identify and prioritise products for trade, the ministry said. The Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers\u2019 Association is also exploring export opportunities and potential sources of Venezuelan raw materials. According to the ministry, the association is expected to host a Doing Business in Venezuela webinar next month, with presentations from the Venezuelan ambassador and Trinidad and Tobago government representatives. Energy cooperation formed another part of the discussions. Sobers highlighted Trinidad and Tobago\u2019s processing infrastructure and technical expertise alongside Venezuela\u2019s hydrocarbon resources. He identified natural gas development, cross-border projects, technical exchanges and capacity building as potential areas of collaboration. He also referred to a recently signed letter of intent between the two countries\u2019 energy chambers. The ministry described it as a framework for knowledge exchange, mutual support and closer industry engagement, with opportunities for joint events, technical workshops and information sharing. Sobers welcomed the anticipated resumption of Caribbean Airlines flights from the end of October, saying improved connectivity could support business development and closer personal ties. The ministry\u2019s account described the service as anticipated, rather than confirming that flights had resumed. The minister\u2019s central appeal was for participants to carry the discussions beyond the meeting room. He encouraged businesses to develop tangible opportunities and partnerships, presenting the roundtable as a step towards closer commercial cooperation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From trade talks to business partnerships: Sobers urges action<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trinidad-and-tobago"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tringlobe.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}