On September 12, local time, Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on the sidelines of the third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago.

Persad-Bissessar said that bilateral relations have maintained sound momentum in recent years with the smooth progress of humanities exchanges and practical cooperation in various areas, adding this benefits the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Appreciating China's long-standing support for her government and people, Persad-Bissessar said that Trinidad and Tobago stands ready to work with China to deepen cooperation in areas such as education, health, agriculture, science and technology, and infrastructure construction. She also said her country is willing to add a fresh impetus to the development of bilateral ties.

Wang, for his part, conveyed the sincere greetings and good wishes from Premier Wen Jiabao to Persad-Bissessar. Wang said China appreciates the great efforts made by Trinidad and Tobago as the host country of the third China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum for the success of the forum. Thanks to the fruitful cooperation in economy and trade over the past years, Trinidad and Tobago has become one of China's most important trade partners in the Caribbean region.

The two sides need to further promote cooperation in such key areas as infrastructure construction, tourism, energy, minerals and agriculture and properly implement development projects in economy and technology, Wang said. Cooperation in finance should also be strengthened to offer financial support for enterprises of both countries, improve the investment environment and improve the level of investment facilitation, he said. China encourages its businesses to invest in Trinidad and Tobago for mutual benefit, the Chinese vice premier said.

After the meeting, Wang attended the signing ceremony of inter-governmental cooperation agreements between China and Trinidad and Tobago.