Szijjarto: Trinidad and Tobago to play key role in Latin America LNG export

The foundations of the LNG partnership are in place, and its implementation will coincide with Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of the year, Szijjarto said, according to a ministry statement.

The minister highlighted the significance of his visit to the Caribbean island country, noting it was the first by a Hungarian foreign minister.

Trinidad and Tobago’s gas reserves are estimated at 300 billion cubic metres, he said, also noting its annual LNG capacities of 20 billion cubic metres.

The island country exported 10 billion cubic metres of LNG last year, with more than 4 billion cubic metres being sold to Europe, Szijjarto said. Also, Trinidad and Tobago reached an agreement with Venezuela on joint extraction and exports, he said.

Szijjarto, who on Wednesday is scheduled to meet Trinidad and Tobago’s foreign, sports and energy ministers, noted the EU’s Global Gateway scheme which supports, among other things, development projects needed to import LNG from the region.

“And this year, a decision was reached on making the operations of the energy and petrochemical industries here more eco-friendly than ever before,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, Szijjarto noted that Trinidad and Tobago’s geographical location makes it a destination for illegal migrants, and that border protection and the assessment of asylum applications were a strict process.

“We agree that the issue of migration raises serious security concerns, which is why combatting illegal migration is not just a Hungarian or European, but also an important global process,” Szijjarto said.

As regards bilateral relations, the minister said bilateral trade turnover had grown 5.5-fold since 2010, and was up 30 percent so far this year.