PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Friday said that Trinidad and Tobago will use its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council on advancing women, peace and the security agenda.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar, speaking in Parliament on Friday (CCMC Photo)“For the next two years, TNT will have a seat at one of the world’s most important decision-making tables, alongside some of the most influential countries on earth. In today’s interconnected world, international decisions affect our security, our jobs, trade, investment, and economic opportunities.
“This seat will strengthen our nation’s voice and influence, create new opportunities for investment and strategic partnerships, and help secure a safer, stronger, and more prosperous future for all citizens,” Persad-Bissessar told a new session of the Parliament on Friday.
She insisted that the country’s presence on the Security Council will not be just “symbolic” saying that the government will use its campaign theme of building consensus for the realisation of sustainable peace and security.
“TNT will seek to foster dialogue, bridge differences, and promote consensus in an increasingly complex international environment,” she told the Parliament to loud applause from government legislators, dismissing in the process, opposition statements that this is not the first time that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country had been successful in gaining a seat on the United Security Council.
Trinidad and Tobago had previously won seats on the UN Security Council under a People’s National Movement (PNM) serving for the periods, 1985–1986 and 2002–2003.
“I am reminded, Mr. Speaker, that is almost 50 years ago. Many of you sitting here were probably not even born. Today, Mr. Speaker, we are in 2026, and we are now in a more complicated world, geopolitically and otherwise, and it was this UNC government that has given us this mandate and given us this vote from 181 countries,” Persad-Bissessar said in response to a question from Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles that Trinidad and Tobago had been successful in 1985.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, former prime minister Dr. Keith Rowley, said he was happy that the country had attained a seat on the Council, adding “ I am therefore pleased that the work we initiated and prepared has borne the expected fruit, and once again this little nation will assume its position to represent our nation and region on the UN Security Council for the next year”.
Rowley thanked his foreign affairs minister Dr. Amery Browne, his current successor, Sean Sobers and others, adding “now that we have agreed to accept this responsibility, not for the first time, I am very concerned as to how we as a nation will conduct ourselves at this forum.
“Recently, we chose to throw caution to the wind as our cherished diplomatic legacy was shredded in furtherance of pleasing the misguided. We belligerently attacked our neighbour and offered our territory for foreign excursions and the kidnapping of a foreign head of state. We publicly ridiculed our CARICOM neighbours and diminished our diplomatic security.”
He said he was also now looking forward to how Port of Spain would be voting on internationals issues particularrly “when the inevitable votes come to the Security Council, we will not be found wanting on issues such as opposition to the genocide in Gaza and support for the two-state solution”.
In her statement to Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said that October 18, 2016, the PNM government retained a US-based lobby group in an arrangement that was repeatedly renewed until 2025.
She said the Rowley administration paid an estimated US$10.27 million to that group “and yet, in spite of that, yes, we got nothing.
“There is little evidence of measurable achievements. There is little evidence of significant business opportunities. There is little evidence of meaningful diplomatic outcomes arising from that expenditure.
“While those on the opposite side spent tens of millions to purchase access, my government earned the respect. While they relied on lobbyists, we relied on diplomacy and genuine partnerships,” Persad-Bissessar said, adding “the difference is clear.181 countries voted for TNT, and that is just within one year of our governance”.
Earlier, she told legislators that the United Nations General Assembly vote on Wednesday was “ a major diplomatic victory for Trinidad and Tobago” saying that it had been achieved after her government had been in office for only one year.
“This is more than a diplomatic success. It is a national achievement which belongs to every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Today our nation has secured a place at one of the world’s most influential decision-making tables. For a small state of just over one million persons, that is no small accomplishment. We accept this responsibility with humility and as a resounded vote of confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s leadership, credibility, and growing influence within the international community.”
She said the election to the UN Security Council requires the support of a two-thirds majority of the United Nations member states and that Port of Spain, which was the only country seeking the seat allocated to Latin America and the Caribbean, received support from 181 of the 191 countries eligible to vote.
“Significantly, this overwhelming mandate included the support of all five permanent members of the Security Council, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia. That level of support is exceptional,” she said, reiterating that “this represents a powerful vote of confidence in Trinidad and Tobago’s leadership, credibility, standing and ability to contribute meaningfully to international peace, security and cooperation”.
She said the success was the result of strategic planning, sustained diplomacy and deliberate engagement with the international community, adding that since it launched its campaign for the UN Security Council seat in September last year, “my government has engaged countries across every region of the world to advance our candidacy”.
Persad-Bissessar said also that the victory did not occur in isolation and is “a direct result of a deliberate and sustained effort by my government to rebuild TNT’s credibility, influence and standing in the international community.
“Every engagement, every partnership and every diplomatic initiative has been driven by one objective, creating opportunities and tangible benefits for the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” she told legislators.
