Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, along with members of the resident diplomatic and honorary consular corps, and key partners of Caribbean and international organisations based in Barbados, at the Oceana Innovation Hub during the Ol’ Bajan Bus Excursion. (C. Pitt/BGIS)
Strengthening ties with the diplomatic community remains central to Barbados’ development agenda.
This was underscored recently as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade hosted members of the resident diplomatic and honorary consular corps, along with representatives of regional and international organisations, for an informal engagement designed to deepen partnerships in support of the country’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The event, the Ol’ Bajan Bus Excursion and Luncheon, was held under the theme “Partnering for People, Planet and Prosperity”.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, explained that the activity was designed to foster stronger ties with the diplomatic corps while providing first-hand insight into some of Barbados’ infrastructure projects, particularly those focused on sustainability and resilience.
Mr. Symmonds noted that the excursion followed a similar engagement held in January, where he had committed to creating more informal opportunities for dialogue.
“The reason why we’ve chosen to do what we’ve done…, and the way we’ve chosen to do it, is because there are so many of you who are new that it is perhaps useful for you to get an eye on the reality of that which we are talking to you about, when we talk about Barbados’ development trajectory, and for you to understand some of the lived experiences.
“And in a very understated way, I think that perhaps I should make the point that today’s exposure to you all also touched in a very tangible way, the major concern that the Prime Minister of Barbados has with respect to sustainability and resilience and climate in a small economy such as ours,” the Minister stated.
He continued: “We have at our core one ambition, and that is to make sure that the humanity that we represent in Barbados, the humanity we represent across this region and in countries which are in similarly positioned economic and social circumstances such as ours, is a humanity whose needs are being heard, whose presence is being felt and whose expectations are being voiced.
”The Ol’ Bajan Bus Excursion included visits to the Pierhead Barbados Development Site, the Oceana Innovation Hub, and Export Barbados’ International Food Science Centre, and concluded at Golden Grove Great House.
The Foreign Minister said the sites were selected to showcase Barbados’ development trajectory, with emphasis on urban transformation, sustainability, and resilience. He pointed out that the Pierhead project is intended to revitalise Bridgetown, while the Oceana Innovation Hub was built with resilience in mind and serves as an educational space to teach, especially children, about the blue economy and the need to protect its resources. Similarly, the International Food Science Centre aims to support entrepreneurship and industrial growth in a sustainable manner.
Mr. Symmonds also reminded attendees of the guiding principle articulated by Barbados’ first Prime Minister and National Hero, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow – Barbados’ foreign policy should be one of being “friends of all and satellites of none”.
“What is often forgotten is that he also said, in the same statement, that our diplomacy will be a diplomacy not of power, but a diplomacy of development. And in all of our engagements, the intention really is to find a way in which we can have discussions and hopefully commonality of understanding on the development priority for Barbados first and for this region, and by extension, for small island states such as ours,” he emphasised.
Author: Sheena Forde-Craigg
Source: https://gisbarbados.gov.bb/blog/maintaining-relations-with-the-diplomatic-corps-is-important/
