In Trinidad and Tobago news. In his capacity as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to four of the Nordic countries, His Excellency Garvin Nicholas continued his official visit to the region, where he solidified ties with high profile leaders in Energy and Trade.
On October 9th, his Excellency met with representatives from the Ministry of Energy, including Mr. Peter Føllesdal Brown, Deputy Director and Jorunn Anne Salthella, Assistance Director General. The group discussed Norway’s approach to Renewable Energy.
L to R: Mr Rolf Holmen, Honorary Consul for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in Norway; His Excellency Garvin Nicholas; Jan Duerloo, Head of Production, Yara Belgium SA/NV and Alexey Lisin, Strategy & BD/Legal, Yara International ASA.
During this meeting, officials presented on mechanisms implemented to manage and effectively control the energy usage in Norway. 99% of Norway’s energy consumption is in Electricity which is generated mainly by Hydropower. Norway is the 7th largest exporter of Oil and 3rd largest exporter of gas, and the Ambassador indicated that future collaboration between Norway and Trinidad and Tobago on Renewable Energy could reap significant benefits.
Ambassador Nicholas continued to the Oslo Chamber of Commerce where he met with Mr. Lars-Kåre Legernes, Managing Director. The Oslo Chamber provides an Expat service to assist in the orientation of foreign nationals working with Norwegian companies, and Legernes stated that Norway was in need of Engineering and Nursing professionals; another area of possible collaboration between Norway and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ambassador also liaised with Ms Patricia Svendsen who is currently involved in a fish-farming project in Trinidad. Ms Svendsen expressed her eagerness to explore further opportunities for investment in Trinidad and Tobago primarily within the tourist sector, remarking on the significant potential within this sector.
Ambassador Nicholas reiterated Ms Svendsen’s sentiments regarding the tourism investment opportunities and invited her to network with the Embassy to continue the dialogue. Ambassador Nicholas further expanded on the potential for collaboration between Trinidad and Tobago and Norway particularly in the areas of Oil & Gas Services and companies interested in exporting to Latin America and the Caribbean.
His Excellency paid a visit to Innovation Norway where he met with Mr Sverre Johan Lindtvedt, Director Division Abroad. Following the discussions it was determined that three of the major areas for collaboration and possible investment would be the Tourism sector, Fish-farming, particularly off-shore and LNG; Norwegians possess cutting-edge technology for deepwater environments whilst Trinidad and Tobago has the technical and engineering expertise.
Ambassador Nicholas paid a courtesy call on Yara International, a company which has had a long-standing relationship with Trinidad and Tobago. Productive discussions ensued with Mr Alexey Lisin, Strategy & Business Development/Legal and Mr Jan Duerloo, Head of Production. A brief review of Yara’s investment in Trinidad and Tobago was provided and an interest in exploring potential downstream opportunities expressed.
Ambassador Nicholas expressed his immense satisfaction with the productive visit, which yielded clear opportunities for collaboration and investment within the areas of tourism, ICT-development, Fish-farming and downstream energy and energy services.
