VZCZCXRO8621
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHSP #0529/01 1181906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281906Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6769
INFO RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3585
RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000529 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EPET ETRD PREL TD XL
SUBJECT: JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS TRINIDAD 
 
REF: (A) POS 488; (B) 05 POS 2064; (C) 04 POS 2042 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Energy dominated the visit of Jamaican 
Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller to Trinidad April 
24-26.  Regional crime, drug trafficking and security 
concerns relating to the 2007 Cricket World Cup also 
figured in discussions she had with T&T PM Patrick 
Manning.  No new agreements came out of the visit, 
which was Simpson-Miller's first as PM and came during 
Manning's stint as CARICOM chairman.  End summary. 
 
¶2. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller paid a visit to 
Trinidad & Tobago April 24-26.  It was her first 
official overseas visit since assuming her current 
office, and responded to an invitation by T&T Prime 
Minister Patrick Manning, who is the current chairman 
of CARICOM.  The two met in a three-hour discussion, 
and Simpson-Miller delivered an address to members of 
the T&T Manufacturers Association (TTMA), and visited 
the headquarters of the T&T National Gas Company. 
 
¶3. While receiving state honors by the GOTT, Simpson- 
Miller's visit was overshadowed by the April 24 
conviction of T&T Opposition Leader and former PM 
Basdeo Panday (ref A).  As a result, details of her 
visit were relegated to business pages of Trinidad 
papers. 
 
-------------------------------- 
PetroCaribe takes center stage 
-------------------------------- 
¶4. At a press conference following their April 25 
meeting, Manning and Simpson-Miller addressed the 
PetroCaribe arrangement with Venezuela.  Manning 
reminded the media that T&T had taken a decision to 
facilitate participation by other CARICOM members, such 
as Jamaica.  By voluntarily giving up Common External 
Tariff (CET) protection for the regional refining 
industry, Manning said those countries would be able to 
take advantage of favorable payment terms for petroleum 
products from Venezuela.  Simpson-Miller said she was 
bound as PM to do what she could to benefit the people 
of Jamaica, including participating in PetroCaribe. 
 
¶5. In a remarkable moment of directness, Manning 
reduced the essence of his government's position on 
PetroCaribe to a single sound bite.  The Guardian 
quoted Manning, explaining why T&T and Barbados have 
not signed onto PetroCaribe, succinctly:  "The reason 
is that in T&T we have a refinery ... and in the case 
of Barbados because they have a processing arrangement 
with the T&T refinery." 
 
---------------------------- 
Gas for Jamaica, Aluminum for Trinidad 
---------------------------- 
¶6. Simpson-Miller said during the visit that T&T agreed 
to a long-term arrangement to supply gas to Jamaica. 
In turn, she said, Jamaica agreed to invest in the 
Alutrint aluminum smelter project proposed for Trinidad 
(ref B).  According to a GOTT statement issued after 
the press conference, gas supply options for Jamaica 
include: 
 
(1) Compressed natural gas, 
(2) Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Atlantic LNG Train 
4, or 
(3) LNG from the yet-to-be-built Train "X." 
 
The supply of gas is supposed to begin in 2009 under 
MFN payment terms (which would rule out the third 
option). 
 
¶7. Econ Chief spoke with MFA CARICOM desk officer 
Jennifer Marchand on April 27 about the visit.  We 
asked specifically about Simpson-Miller's statement 
that Jamaica would "invest" in the Alutrint smelter 
project.  Marchand said there were no/no signed 
deliverables during the visit.  The agreements 
announced, according to her, were verbal ones.  Yvonne 
Gittens-Joseph, T&T High Commissioner-designate to 
Jamaica, told DCM after the TTMA luncheon that the key 
issue for the visit was energy.  Marchand told us 
essentially the same thing, though she added that 
Cricket World Cup 2007 was a significant issue.  She 
elaborated that discussion centered on security 
concerns for the event, and were similar to those 
CARICOM officials raised recently with the Secretary in 
the Bahamas.  Marchand said crime and Haiti were not as 
prominent in the visit.  According to her, the recent 
elections in Haiti boded well for eventually bringing 
Haiti back into the CARICOM fold.  Marchand had little 
 
PORT OF SP 00000529  002 OF 002 
 
 
say about crime (though Simpson-Miller stated in the 
press conference that the two countries are working 
together on the issue through ministries of national 
security). 
 
¶8. COMMENT:  The visit appears to have had little in 
real substance.  The gas agreement was not much 
advanced from the MOU signed in 2004 (ref C) and firm 
details have not been worked out.  Manning's statement 
on lifting the CET for PetroCaribe largely repeated a 
position he took in January.  The visit's greater value 
(besides enabling post to dust off old cables) may be 
in building a relationship between the two leaders, who 
have strong personal religious beliefs, and their 
nations, which share challenges of dealing with 
escalating crime, making a success of regional schemes 
like the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), and managing 
differences over PetroCaribe. 
 
AUSTIN