Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar shared a light moment with Donald Trump during the Summit of the Americas in Florida on Saturday when the US president joked about the similarity between her first name and that of former US vice-president Kamala Harris.

While acknowledging the presence of regional leaders at the gathering in Doral, Florida, Trump paused when he came to Persad-Bissessar’s name.

“Your name is very similar to a first name that we have, but fortunately it’s pronounced differently,” Trump said. “This is Kamla as opposed to Kamala. I like Kamla better, in many ways. And I have to say thank you very much, but I have to be careful with that first name. I don’t want to get it mixed up because it would ruin your reputation completely.”