Kampala — THE Trinidad and Tobago government is to train a number of Ugandans in different sectors of the petroleum industry.

The high commissioner, Patrick Edwards, said the training would commence before the end of the year.

"In January this year, our prime minister announced at a meeting of the African Union, his intention to explore ways of providing technical and other forms of assistance in the petroleum sector to nine African countries, including Uganda, at no cost," Edwards explained.

The assistance, he observed, would enable Ugandans to take charge of their valuable natural resource and maximise its utilisation for the benefit of present and future generations.

"Our government is, therefore, preparing a special package of assistance for Uganda."

Edwards was on Sunday speaking during the first Trinidad and Tobago Independence Day celebrations to be marked in Uganda at the high commission offices in Mbuya, a Kampala suburb.

Edwards added that the strength of his country's economy, the oldest oil producing country in the world, was based on oil and natural gas, which brought in over $130b in 2007. The income per capita had increased from $8,600 (sh14m) in 2003 to $16,000 (sh26m) in 2007.

International relations state minister Henry Okello-Oryem said the good relations between the two countries had led to the establishment of the first Trinidad and Tobago diplomatic mission in Uganda.