Barbados and Panama are working to deepen the ties between countries spanning cultural exchange, trade agreements, and legal cooperation. The plan includes the establishment of an embassy here, reciprocating Barbados’ diplomatic representation in Panama City.
Panama’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Janaina Tewaney highlighted significant cultural commonalities between Barbados and Panama in a meeting at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus.
Barbados’ historical ties to Panama date back to the late 19th and early 20th century with the migration of tens of thousands of workers to build the Panama Canal and railway. Barbados is the single largest source of workers to build the canal, according to historians who put the figure at 30 000 to 60 000 Barbadians.
Reflecting on historical nuances, Tewaney acknowledged Panama’s complex relationship with the English language, tracing it back to a legacy of colonial resistance and the quest for sovereignty.
“I have my theory that the US was in Panama for over 100 years [and] Panamanians refused to take English as the first language,” said Tewaney. “Some Panamanians preferred to speak Portuguese or French rather than English. It has to do with the colonial sentiment that we did not want to learn the language of the Americans. It was a generation of Panamanians who were fighting to claim sovereignty. And they did not take English as their language. You speak English very well here so that collaboration is very relevant to us.
“That connects also with the cultural one. I’m 100 per cent sure Panamanian students would prefer to come to Barbados to learn English than go to any other country. The second one is the exchange between academic and diplomatic academies. I’m very interested in Panamanian diplomats to come and learn here, and vice versa.”
Trade emerged as a cornerstone of the bilateral discussions, with Carmen Gisela Vigara, the administrator of Panama’s export and investment promotion authority, PROPANAMA, suggesting both nations explore avenues to enhance economic cooperation.
She said: “We’d like to enhance trade between the two countries and for that, we’re thinking about probably a partial trade agreement and exchange of lists of products to start with, so that we can have easier free trade between our countries because we think that our export offer is complimentary.
“What we have built in Panama is the most impressive logistics services centre in the region. The connectivity that we have is not only through the sea, which is what I think everybody knows about Panama because of the canal. And yes, we are connected to 920 ports through 117 maritime routes in 180 countries.”
Principal of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, Professor Clive Landis said the university is eager to partner with the new embassy to develop its work plan in Barbados. Describing the UWI as the Caribbean’s premier higher education institution, he pointed to its global standing in the top four per cent of universities worldwide and the top one per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“For over 75 years, we have been, and continue to be, a pivotal force in every aspect of the social and economic development of the Caribbean. We have nearly 50 000 students at present, and more than 250 000 graduates spread across our five campuses throughout the English-speaking Caribbean. Some 24 of our alumni of the UWI have risen to become heads of government, and countless others are leaders of all professions, locally, regionally, and internationally,” he said.
“Here at the Cave Hill Campus, through our seven faculties and supporting academic departments, research units, and centres, we offer more than 350 graduate and undergraduate programs. As a fully accredited institution, the quality of our degrees is assured, and our graduates are employable anywhere in the world. We therefore stand ready and well-equipped to partner with national universities and institutions in Panama.” (RG)
