Pravasi Divas 'inspires' Trinidad & Tobago PM Kamla Persad Bissessar

JAIPUR: Kamla Persad Bissessar, prime minister of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, and the first woman to hold this position, said she was much inspired by the Indian Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

"We too have a rich and diverse diaspora around the world and it would be a great idea to connect with them for investment opportunities as well as a wealth of knowledge. For instance, I do know about the large community of Indian hoteliers in the US and would like to invite them to set up hotels in T&T," Persad Bissessar, who is the chief guest at the 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas told ET.

"From wearing the correct clothes to balancing the roles of mother, wife, grandmother and political leader, it has been quite a big challenge as a woman to make my mark in public life. There are gender biases in my country and issues of discrimination. But there are advantages too. As a woman, I feel that I am more conciliatory and bring in soft skills which are very important in contemporary politics specially when leading a coalition," she said.

Persad Bissessar, whose ancestors hailed from Bihar and migrated to the Caribbean region as labourers, finds her ethnic background a definite advantage in T&T. She is scheduled to visit the village of her ancestors in Bihar later this week.