Barbados, US hold talks on improving relationship

Senior officials from Barbados and the United States have been discussing enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

At a meeting on Tuesday, led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, and USA’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Caribbean Affairs and Haiti, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Barbara Feinstein, talks focused on improving the strong relationship through the recently launched Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP), of which Barbados is a founding member.

Symmonds said it would allow for greater access to American markets and create economic impetus in Barbados, specifically in the trade of services.

The US-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis (PACC 2030) was also discussed, with officials praising the work being done under the four pillars of PACC 2030.  However, it was agreed that more work remained to be done to achieve the goals of PACC 2030 of advancing climate adaptation and resilience and clean energy cooperation.

Feinstein raised the issue of cyber security and extended an offer of assistance to Barbados. Minister Symmonds expressed Barbados’ gratitude for the offer and agreed that this was an issue that both sides could work on going forward.

In relation to security and crime, the Deputy Assistant Secretary said the US was taking the issue of firearms tracking seriously and had begun to implement measures to tackle the rising issues of trafficking of firearms and gun crimes in the region.

Other topics discussed included matters related to Haiti, correspondent banking, de-risking, and migration issues.
(BGIS/BT)