February 4, 2021

“I Never Said That” PM Responds To Criticism From Former US Ambassador Joseph Mondello

By Newsroom

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley is setting the record straight after former US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Joseph Mondello, attributed words to him which he says he never uttered. 

Mr. Mondello who returned to the US last month after completing his service as Ambassador to T&T under the former Donald Trump administration, took aim at Dr. Rowley, alleging the PM said that the United States was a trade partner of the past and China is T&T’s partner of the future. 

Making the statement during an interview on The Long Island’s News 12 in New York, Mondello said he believed the government of Trinidad and Tobago was not looking at the US in the way that it should. 

In a statement on Thursday, however, Dr. Rowley distanced himself from the former Ambassador’s criticism, saying he never inferred that China was a preferred trade partner to the US. 

“I have made no such statement to any newspaper. If anybody can find such a statement as specifically mentioned I will apologize,” Dr. Rowley said, explaining “What I do recall saying publicly on numerous occasions is that the US is our major trading partner and we continue to encourage US investment in Trinidad and Tobago.”
 
He continued: “I know that Trinidad and Tobago’s long-standing, close relationship with China and more recently our business contacts with China was a source of constant griping by this Ambassador but the friendly relations between Trinidad and Tobago and China is a healthy one and does not require the approval of any Ambassador in our country.”
 
The Prime Minister reiterated that “it was never a case of one or the other, and said T&T maintains  “good, friendly, business relationships with both world powers as we look after the interest of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.”
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