GOPIO Installs Newly Elected GOPIO of Trinidad Chapter Officers

GOPIO Installs Newly Elected GOPIO of Trinidad Chapter Officers

The newly elected executives of GOPIO of Trinidad Chapter of GOPIO International were formally installed at a very prominent event held on the evening of Friday, February 29, 2008 at the HCU World Select Gem Convention Centre in Freeport, Trinidad. The event was very well attended by over 300 that included high ranking officials of the government and opposition parties as well as foreign representatives, well wishers, the press and the general public.

The feature speaker was the Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Shri Jagjit Singh Sapra. Newly elected executive officers of GOPIO Trinidad and Tobago were inaugurated by Mr. Ashook Ramsaran, General Secretary of GOPIO International, and Ambassador Mr. Krishna Nandoe, Caribbean Region Vice- President of GOPIO International. Entertainment for the evening was provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation.

Newly elected executive officers of the GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago who were installed are: President Deosaran Bisnath; Vice President Reuben Girdhar-Niranjan: Secretary Rajnie Ramlakhan; Asst. Secretary Varsha Maharaj; Treasurer Oscar Ramoutar; Directors Pandit Jaganath Seeram Maharaj and Niranjan Bhaggan; Youth Coordinators Sacha Mahabal, Shivanie Ramcharitar and Avinash Sanu.

Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Shri Jagjit Singh Sapra delivered the keynote address and praised the work GOPIO is doing. Hon Lenny Saith, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office congratulated the newly elected officials of GOPIO of Trinidad and Tobago and extended greetings from Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Hon Albert Ramdin, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) remarked that GOPIO’s effort on local and international levels are quite admirable. Contributing remarks were made by Deosaran Bisnath, newly elected President of GOPIO of Trinidad and Tobago chapter; Ashook Ramsaran, General Secretary of GOPIO International; Ambassador Mr. Krishna Nandoe, Caribbean Region Vice- President of GOPIO International; Mr Yesu Persaud, a founding member of GOPIO and currently Chairman of Guyana; Mr Basdeo Panday, Leader of the Opposition. Also in attendance was Suriname’s Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Fidelia Graande-Galon; as well as Hon Ramesh L. Maharaj, Parliamentary Whip. Prominent civic and religious leaders were also in attendance.

GOPIO of Trinidad and Tobago recognized the contributions of the following persons who have made significant contributions in various segments of the society: Ramdath Jagessar; Rev. Ralph R. Umraw; Phoolo Dhany-Maharaj; Zahir Baksh; Pundit Capildeo Maharaj and Valene Maharaj. The awards were presented by Hon Sapra and assisted by Ashook Ramsaran.

Earlier on that day, GOPIO’s representatives were interviewed on television: Ashook Ramsaran, General Secretary of GOPIO International and Mr Yesu Persaud, Chairman of Guyana, were on Gayelle TV. Deosaran Bisnath, President of GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago and Ambassador Mr. Krishna Nandoe, Caribbean Region Vice- President of GOPIO International, were on CNC3 Television. The GOPIO delegation of Ramsaran, Nandoe, Persaud and Bisnath re-iterated GOPIO’s “non-political and secular” position and stressed the need for collaborative community efforts to address issues of interest and concern in the community, while “maintaining and strengthening national unity and national loyalty”.

At a meeting with Hon Donna Cox, Minister in Ministry of Culture, Deosaran Bisnath elaborated on some of the community programs being planned by GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago . These include educational seminars on alcohol abuse, diabetes and education. Hon Donna Cox welcomed the efforts and offered the support of the Ministry of Culture.

The meeting with India’s High Commissioner Hon. Sapra was held in the office of the High Commissioner and attended by the delegation of Ramsaran, Nandoe, Persaud and Bisnath. Discussions included GOPIO’s request to increase the number of scholarships, promoting “Get To Know India” program and including GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago in the selection process. Hon. Sapra also elaborated on future collaboration with trade exhibitions and business conference. GOPIO plans to initiate efforts to establish chapters in Grenada and Dominica, and Hon. Sapra’s liaison would be helpful in this effort.

A full press conference was held at City Hall. Members of the press met with the delegation of Ramsaran, Nandoe, Persaud and Bisnath, and posed questions relating to GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago, GOPIO International and how the chapter plans to work with others in its efforts to address community issues, working in close collaboration with other civic groups.

The GOPIO delegation of Ramsaran, Nandoe, Persaud and Bisnath then met with Prime Minister Patrick Manning at the office of the Prime Minister. While Ramsaran and others in the GOPIO delegation re-iterated GOPIO’s position of being non-political and secular, Prime Minister Manning welcomed the change in the executives of GOPIO Trinidad & Tobago. A Press Release on the meeting with GOPIO from the Office of the Prime Minister followed shortly thereafter.

The following day on March 1, Ramsaran met with Indian High Commissioner to Suriname, Hon. Ashok Sharma, in transit in Trinidad on his way to St Lucia. Their discussion centered on establishing more GOPIO chapters to further strengthen the GOPIO network in the Caribbean Region. These include Barbados and Lt Lucia for which Hon Sharma has jurisdiction as India’s High Commissioner.

GOPIO is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global organization with chapters in several countries, actively promoting the interests of people of Indian origin worldwide by monitoring and addressing current critical issues of concern, and by enhancing cooperation and communication among groups of Indians living in
various countries and with India.


For more information, please contact Inder Singh, President of GOPIO International at gopio-intl@sbcglobal.net or by telephone at +1-818-708-3885 or Ashook Ramsaran, Secretary General, at ramsaran@aol.com or by telephone at +1-718-939-8194.