The Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade has announced that Barbados has signed new agreements with two CARICOM neighbors. According to the Ministry, the new agreement provides for enhanced cooperation between the governments and the exploitation of opportunities in several areas of economic activity for their people.
The Agreement for a Strategic Dialogue and Cooperation Platform between Barbados and Suriname was signed by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and President of Suriname Chandrikapersad Santokhi at the Presidential Palace in Paramaribo on Monday night, while the Barbados/Guyana agreement was signed during a break from talks at the 43rd Regular Meeting CARICOM Heads of Government this morning.
This new agreement adds to the agreements previously signed by Barbados, Guyana and Suriname earlier in 2022.
The agreements cover a wide array of cooperation among the three nations.
Responding to the assurance from the Surinamese president that he would hold his ministers and officers to a standard that would ensure the people of the two countries receive maximum benefit from the agreement, Prime Minister Mottley said, “The truth is that we have seen already, substantive engagement between our private sectors. We’ve seen substantive engagement with ordinary people in sports and in other areas. And we are also seeing a very strong and continuous relationship with the government and people of Suriname, because we believe that we have an obligation to work with people in our neighborhood. And you are one of those who, for every reason, it is only language and history that have separated us thus far. And we have come to this point over the last few years to say that that should no longer be a barrier.”
She added, “Suriname is a major player in fisheries. Suriname is the location of CAHFSA, which is responsible for the regulation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures within our community. And if we want to expand our trade in food, if we want to have food security, CAHFSA is going to play a critical role in allowing us to be able to do so.”