Minister of Constitutional and Home Affairs Roland Duncan arrived in Trinidad and Tobago over the weekend from Curacao and was welcomed by the Prime Minister of the twin republic the Honorable Patrick Manning during an introductory meeting in Port of Spain.
The purpose of the visit was to give the Caribbean islands insight on the constitutional changes the Netherlands Antilles are presently undertaking and to explore and strengthen ties in the region. Membership in CARICOM and OECS was also discussed.
The Prime Minister of Trinidad was very interested in the process currently occurring in the Netherlands Antilles and stressed the importance of maintaining contact between the islands. Minister Duncan also indicated that he hoped that Prime Minister Manning would accept the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles for a courtesy visit in the near future.
Later in the day Minister Duncan met with his counterpart Hazel Manning, Minister of Local Government, at which time Minister Manning’s technical staff made a presentation on local government in Trinidad. Minister Duncan was accompanied by the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr. Horbach, the representative of the Netherlands Antilles in Trinidad, Mrs. Louise de Bode-Olton and the acting director of Administrative and Constitutional Affairs Ms. Ivy Lo Tam Soen.