#BTColumn – Government’s diplomatic moves

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados TODAY Inc.

by Suleiman Bulbulia

The recent announcement by Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Jerome Walcott regarding appointments of new Heads of Missions and Ambassadors in several countries is welcomed news. Especially pleasing is the posting of representatives to the countries of Ghana, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates.

These new postings represent a matured Barbados where we now broaden our scope and reach of diplomatic relationships. It certainly reinforces our historic foreign policy slogan “friends of all, satellites of none”.

As we venture beyond our traditional friends in Europe and North America, we seek out those who share our ideals and can bring to the relationship benefits that both parties are happy with. This we have witnessed recently with a longstanding friend and ally, India. Barbados’ relationship with India goes way back to our Independence.

India was among the first countries to recognise Barbados as an independent nation. This relationship over the years has remained intact and has brought several benefits to Barbadians. Most recently have been the COVID-19 vaccines.

Prime Minister Mottley recently spoke of that long-established relationship when she personally took receipt of the vaccinations.

India, she reminded us, gifted Barbados for our Independence in 1966 the exquisite, specially made and crafted chair which the Speaker of the House of Assembly sits on at Sittings of Parliament.

Barbadians in earlier years benefitted from educational scholarships to study in India, especially in the field of medicine. And several Indian doctors and medical personnel have worked in Barbados over the years.

Our reach into the African continent is long overdue. Our long historical connection makes it even more crucial that we forge ahead with relationships with as many African countries as we can achieve and especially with the most stable and economically independent countries of that continent.

I believe we have much to gain from closer relationships with African nations. It is extremely pleasing that our nursing needs were recently supplemented with trained nurses from Ghana. Cultural, educational, health and exchanges in other ways can benefit our country and provide opportunities for our people to explore new horizons.

As for the Middle East and North Africa connections I compliment the Government for taking these bold steps with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. I have for a few years been advocating greater ties with Middle eastern countries as many of our Caribbean neighbours have already been benefitting from these relationships. I congratulate Mr. Gabriel Abed on his appointment as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Abed’s Arab heritage and background makes him ideally suited for that post.

The UAE has already proven its value in the budding relationship between our two countries by gifting Barbados last year several hundred testing kits, along with related supplies and personal protection equipment.

The Middle East region provides opportunities for small-island developing states like ourselves to benefit significantly. A report titled “Relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East: Status and areas of opportunity Report of 2012” from the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), a regional intergovernmental organisation that groups 27 Latin American and Caribbean countries points out: “The Middle East has had a rapid population and economic growth that makes it an ideal place for the countries of the LAC region to seek to develop business relationships.

However, trade relations between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and those of the Middle East have so far been marginal, with low levels for both groups. Relations between the two regions have not been a priority and neither side has become an important trading partner for each other. This is also a result of the lack of knowledge about the opportunities offered by each group. Furthermore, the Middle East export platform is still dominated by oil.

The Middle East is well-known for being a source of capital as a result of the accumulation of foreign currencies generated by its oil exports. Companies of a number of countries in the region have already made investments in different sectors, but especially in services.

One way of promoting trade and exports is precisely through the promotion of reciprocal investments between the two regions. Productive investments can have a positive impact on trade flows, which are still low.”

The report went on to list several opportunities of establishing closer ties with countries in the Middle East. These opportunities can definitely be explored with vigour now there is an official Barbadian presence in the region. For many years Barbadians have found lucrative job opportunities in that part of the world and now such avenues can be further explored more aggressively.

Tourism is another area that we can most certainly explore with the UAE and other Gulf states. The SELA report highlights this area: “However, tourism between Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East is still low and one of the main challenges is to provide greater dynamism in the connectivity, for today the lack of direct air and sea connection between South America and the Arab countries renders the rapprochement difficult.

There are virtually no trips, both ways, without stopping in Europe. Despite the difficulties and the lack of interest from tour operators, new air routes have been established that can promote holiday tourism in addition to business travel.”

Barbados has the tourism infrastructure to attract this market to our shores and post-COVID it must be pursued to the maximum. UAE’s airline ‘Emirates’, one of the best in the world, flies to many destinations across the Globe, adding Barbados to its list will certainly be a bonus.

Several of our regional neighbours have been ahead of us in building relationships with Middle Eastern countries and have benefitted. A few years ago, while I was in Qatar, I read in their newspapers of representatives of a few Caribbean countries presenting their credentials to the Government there. Guyana has a mission in Kuwait for several years.

South-south alliances are becoming more common-place as capital and economic power shifts to other non-traditional countries outside of Europe and the Americas. It is acknowledged by many analysts that the “Global South” is making increasingly significant contributions to global development.

The economic and geopolitical relevance of many countries has grown. In the past, south-south cooperation focused on sharing knowledge and building capacities, but the countries of the Global South and new financial institutions have recently also become increasingly active in development finance.

Barbados can certainly benefit as we explore new horizons, make new friends and create alliances with emerging countries in the South.

Suleiman Bulbulia is a Justice of the Peace; Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association; Muslim Chaplain at the U.W.I, Cave Hill Campus and Chair, Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition. Email: suleimanbulbulia@hotmail.com