Sinckler pledges continuity, principle in foreign policy on ‘homecoming’

Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Chris Sinckler, has pledged a steady and principle-driven approach to Bridgetown’s external relations, signalling that his return to the post after 16 years will focus on continuity, professionalism and advancing the country’s global standing.

 

Greeting foreign ministry staff on arrival at the Culloden Road headquarters, Sinckler – foreign minister in the David Thompson administration a decade ago – emphasised the technical demands of the portfolio and the seriousness of Barbados’ external representation, praising the professionalism of the ministry’s officers.

 

“It’s a very keen, disciplined, well-organised group of officers here at the ministry. The work we do is highly technical on both sides, and representing Barbados externally is a serious role,” he told reporters in a brief interview after what he described as a privilege and a homecoming.

 

He said his leadership would be grounded in long-established foreign policy positions, rather than abrupt shifts, while remaining responsive to changing global realities.

 

But he shied away from directly commenting on hemispheric and regional issues such as the US-Venezuela tensions.

 

 

“We take positions of principle, and we stand on those,” Sinckler said, adding that Barbados must also remain mindful enough and flexible enough to navigate geopolitical, international trade and commercial spaces in ways that deliver benefits to its people.

 

The ministry’s work extended beyond state-to-state diplomacy to helping Barbadians understand how global developments affect their daily lives, particularly in an era where international affairs are highly visible through digital platforms, Sinckler said.

 

“Our remit or mandate is to help shape that conversation for Barbados, so that they understand both the implications, but importantly, the opportunities for Barbados and for them,” he said, noting that Barbados’ foreign policy has remained basically constant and consistent over time, adjusted only to reflect international circumstances.

 

Those positions, he stressed, are strong philosophical and principled positions, but adjustable and flexible.

 

He placed Barbados’ external engagement within the wider global push for sustainability, crediting Prime Minister Mia Mottley with leading that effort internationally. Describing her as the country’s first diplomat, Sinckler said his role would be to support that leadership by advancing the administration’s policy agenda and helping to carry the workload required to transform society and build a sustainable country.

 

Reflecting on his return to central government after working in international financial institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, Sinckler said the underlying objective remained the same despite differences in scale and structure.

 

“At the end of the day it’s development work,” he said. “It’s about improving lives and livelihoods.”

 

Thanking the prime minister for the confidence placed in him, Sinckler said he was ready to fully re-enter public service, despite having believed his time in that space had ended.

 

His first engagement on the international scene after returning to the foreign ministry will be his attendance at the CARICOM summit in the St Kitts and Nevis capital, Basseterre, which opens on Tuesday.

 

Sinckler, a former Democratic Labour Party member who entered public life as an aide to former prime minister Lloyd Erskine Sandiford, first joined the Cabinet after he was elected in the 2008 general election. He served briefly as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business, and then as Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development and Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly from 2008 until Thompson’s death in 2010.

 

He was then appointed Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs in the Freundel Stuart administration, a position he held until 2018, during which time he also served as Barbados’ governor on the boards of the World Bank, IMF, Inter-American Development Bank and Caribbean Development Bank.

 

Sinckler lost his St Michael North West seat to Barbados Labour Party candidate Neil Rowe when voters removed the Stuart administration from office in a clean-sweep victory for the BLP in the May 2018 election.

 

Out of elective politics, less than two years later, Sinckler was invited by Prime Minister Mottley to sit on a jobs and investment council intended to help chart the way forward for Barbados.

(SZB)