Fellow Citizens, Today marks the 46th anniversary of the founding of our Republic, and I bring greetings to every citizen, wherever you are, on behalf of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, my family, and myself, as Prime Minister of this our blessed nation. Yes, we are, indeed, a fortunate people, to be the owners and beneficiaries of these islands. Let us acknowledge this truth about a country which is populated by exceptional people. This all becomes more evident, when one scans the globe, and notes particularly its recent assessment by the U.N. Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, who said that nations are “gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction” and overall “our world is in peril – and paralysed.” However, within that global ball of chaos and confusion, there are two islands at the southern end of the Caribbean archipelago, facing, of course, its own socio-economic political challenges -- yet its people, in their various ways, thank the Almighty, hold to their unique spirit and idyllically celebrate the joys of just being alive, and live on with “boundless faith in our destiny”. If as a people, we do a balanced introspection, we will recall that at our political independence in 1962 our Founding Father, Prime Minister, Dr Eric Williams challenged us with building a nation-state, which meant the daunting challenge of constructing, out of fragile, tenuous and agitating ethnic groups, a cohesive, disciplined society, intellectually, and now technologically, sophisticated enough, to face the fast-paced modern world, and at the same time founding a political entity acceptable, stable and respected within the international community. See link in bio to read Prime Minister Dr the Hon Keith Rowley's full Republic Day message 2022.