Dr. Keith Rowley, the prime minister, was in casual clothing since he was scheduled to fly when he was persuaded to participate in a global news conference. Sir Ronald Sanders, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States of America (USA) and the Organization of American States (OAS), provided it as the justification for his recent public support of Rowley’s dress.
On the last day of the Canada-Caricom Summit, Dr. Rowley appeared on stage in casual attire opposite a very professionally attired Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada.
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The United National Congress (UNC) and other residents expressed their displeasure with Dr. Rowley on social media, with some even accusing him of humiliating the nation.
Sir Ronald, on the other hand, provided clarification in a post to his Facebook page yesterday in response to what he called “regrettable comments that have been made on Facebook that do a great injustice to Prime Minister Rowley, who was an outstanding voice at the Canada-Caricom meeting on the issues that are important to us as a region.”
Due to his proximity to Dr. Rowley throughout all Meeting sessions, Sir Ronald claimed to be able to vouch for this.
“The circumstances of his dress for a media conference with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, were that the Conference Chair, PM Skerrit of Dominica, had to leave early because of the prospect of Hurricane Tammy hitting his country. So he was not available for the end of the conference media appearance.”
He continued, “PM Rowley had dressed to leave the hotel for the multiple airplane journeys home, but in the absence of PM Skerrit, as he was leaving, he was pressed into service at the very last minute. He stepped up to the plate, and even though he was drafted with no prior notice, he spoke well for all. He should be lauded, not criticized.”
Instead of responding to the issue, Dr. Rowley shared Sir Ronald’s defense of him on his Facebook page.
Dr. Keith Rowley’s dress was not the main topic of the recent Caricom-Canada Summit, according to Andy Knight, professor of international relations and co-founder of the Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean, who recently gave advice to the public.
Knight noted, “I don’t see why we should be giving the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago hell for wearing a fairly casual outfit, it really distracts from the substance of the meeting. We don’t know the circumstances under which the Prime Minister was forced to dress the way that he did and I don’t think it should really matter and I hope that message gets across.”
