March 13, 2021 — On Saturday, Senator the Honourable Dr. Jerome X. Walcott, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, delivered a comprehensive update on the work of his Ministry.

STATEMENT BY SENATOR DR. THE HONOURABLE JEROME WALCOTT, J.P, MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN TRADE, MARCH 13, 2021

It is with great pleasure that I make this presentation to you today on some of the work and plans of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

There is nothing esoteric about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Our work is directly determined and informed by Barbados’ national priorities and domestic interests. Indeed, the work of the Ministry underpins and supports all that we are and all that we do in Barbados.

Hence, with the onset of the Covid 19 Pandemic and over the past year my Ministry has had to respond to myriad matters including those related to the crisis in global supply chains, as it related to obtaining PPE, ventilators, ICU beds, naso-pharyngeal swabs, PCR and RT kits, as well as engaging with the Cuban Government to secure the assistance of doctors and nurses from the Cuban Medical Brigade and more recently being involved in reaching out to various countries and several entities in an effort to procure Covid 19 vaccines for our people.

Here, I must highlight the importance of our Regional partners and graciously thank The Commonwealth of Dominica and the Cayman Islands for assisting us with swabs in the early months of the Pandemic, later Dominica and Grenada helped us with rapid test kits and more recently Guyana assisted us with PCR kits and subsequently the much needed binding solution. Covid 19 showed us the importance of Regionalism.

In our mission, to promote and secure, in the international community, Barbados’ political, social and economic interests. You would appreciate that an immediate priority for this Ministry is now to support the economic recovery and transformation of Barbados in a post COVID environment.

Mindful of this the Ministry’s contribution to the achievement of Barbados’ goals of enhanced economic growth and revenue generation will be delivered in the coming Financial Year through a series of diversified external engagements in the following areas:

  1. Strengthening traditional bilateral relations and pursuing NEW non-traditional partnerships;
  2. Reaffirming multilateralism and deepening engagement with like-minded alliances;
  3. Increasing Barbados’ trade levels by enhancing commercial diplomacy;
  4. Ramping up our outreach to the Barbados diaspora and Friends of Barbados community.

Strengthening traditional bilateral relations and pursuing new non-traditional partnerships

The Ministry and its overseas Missions will continue to focus on the deepening and strengthening of existing relationships with traditional partners in the Caribbean, Latin America, North America and Europe, as well as the development of relationships with new, non-traditional partners in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Gulf States, Central and South America. The opening of new Missions and the extension of non-resident accreditations into new regions and countries will assist tremendously in this undertaking.

New diplomatic offices will be opened in Ghana, Kenya and the United Arab Emirates with the intention of expanding Barbados’ South-South cooperation, strengthening our global people-to-people contact, and also contributing to the national effort toward economic reconstruction; business and revenue generation; increased investment; and expanded trade in Barbados’ goods and services, including tourism. These new Missions will be at the forefront of efforts to identify new and emerging sectors that can propel and expand the Barbadian economy, and also to strengthen, advance and diversify bilateral and multilateral action to promote Barbados’ interests globally. Since Independence our mantra has been “friends of all satellites of none”; it is now time for us to widen our network of friends, especially in the face of Covid 19.

In Ghana, the High Commission in Accra will be used to further consolidate Barbados’ relationship with Ghana, which is the ancestral homeland of a large proportion of the population of Barbados. The High Commission will work to advance multiple ongoing initiatives intended to foster a deep and mutually beneficial relationship between Barbados and Ghana, and will also pursue new platforms to advance the pursuit by Barbados of economic growth opportunities both in Ghana and in other countries in western Africa. Hence, claiming our continental destiny with Africa.

In Kenya, the office will serve as Barbados’ Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in Nairobi which is the third largest United Nations Office in the world, and which is the Headquarters for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The Mission in Nairobi will therefore be able to ensure a heightened and sustained level of participation by Barbados in the work and deliberations of both of these organizations which play an important role with respect to programmes and initiatives being undertaken in the island.

On a bilateral level the High Commission in Nairobi will also be used to further consolidate Barbados’ relationship with Kenya, and also to facilitate the pursuit by Barbados of economic growth opportunities in other countries in eastern and southern Africa.

It is to be noted that Barbados’ diplomatic presence in Kenya will be part of a shared CARICOM office space, and as such will be a working example of strengthened regional cooperation.

In the United Arab Emirates, the establishment of an Embassy in Abu Dhabi will serve to significantly advance the growth of a stronger bilateral partnership with the United Arab Emirates which is one of the most developed countries in the Middle East and wields considerable power in the region. The diplomatic presence in Abu Dhabi will also facilitate the pursuit by Barbados of economic growth opportunities in the region, and will be a platform for the formation and strengthening of strategic alliances with other Gulf States.

The Ministry is also moving to further diversify the ways in which Barbados represents and promotes its interests overseas. Consequently, a Commercial and Cultural Officer will be stationed in the Barbados High Commission in Accra, Ghana; while a Diaspora Relations Officer will be incorporated into the staff complement at the Barbados High Commission to the United Kingdom in London.

In keeping with our focus on strengthening our traditional bilateral relations and pursuing new ones, it has been agreed that the following new Heads of Missions will be appointed.

  • Mr. Gline Clarke as High Commissioner to Canada;
  • Mr. Alexander McDonald as High Commissioner to the Republic of Kenya and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Nairobi;
  • Mr. Hallam Henry as Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China;
  • Mr. Gabriel Abed as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates; and
  • Mr. Francois Jackman as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at New York.

I believe that the qualities, experience and competencies of Messers. Clarke, McDonald, Henry, Abed and Jackman render each of them ideal choices for their respective diplomatic appointments as Head of Mission at this critical juncture in Barbados’ socio-economic transformation and development.

Mr. Gline Clarke has had a long and distinguished career as a Member of Parliament from 1994 to 2020. Mr. Clarke’s service to Barbados also included appointments as Minister of Public Works and Transport and Minister of Housing and Lands; as a teacher; and as Vice-Consul in the Consulate General at Toronto working in the Barbados Liaison Service.

Mr. Alexander McDonald has had a successful career as a businessman in a wide range of industries. His extensive private sector experience encompasses his period of employment as the Chief Executive Officer of Cable and Wireless Barbados, as well as leadership of other corporate entities in Barbados including the Barbados Private Sector Association.

Mr. Hallam Henry is a multilingual professional, fluent in Mandarin with hands-on experience in the Chinese business sector, and keen insights into Chinese politics, having lived and studied there for several years. Mr. Henry also has experience in business development and investment facilitation, as well as in the promotion of Barbados as a premier centre for global business and economic development.

Mr. Gabriel Abed is an experienced businessman who is widely recognized as a leading international authority on digital currencies and blockchain technology. Mr. Abed was the first entrepreneur to set up a blockchain company in the Caribbean, and has also played a leadership role in the establishment of companies engaged in digital currency offerings. In addition to his private sector experience, Mr. Abed has worked with Governments as a consultant and been active in the NGO sector and more recently has been living in the UAE.

Mr. Francois Jackman is a career Foreign Service Officer with extensive experience in promoting and advancing Barbados’ interests internationally. In addition to his multiple posts in the Barbados Government, Mr. Jackman has worked as a journalist, and also served as the Chief of Staff to the Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States group, and as Co-Director of the Confucius Institute at the University of the West Indies.

Of course, Barbados enjoys longstanding friendly relations and mature, multi-dimensional partnerships with both Canada and the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Gline Clarke and Mr. Hallam Henry will therefore be assuming the leadership of diplomatic Missions which have been in existence for several years. Similarly, Barbados’ Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office in New York, to which Mr. Francois Jackman will be deployed, is a well-established diplomatic office which promotes and protects Barbados’ interests in the international arena.

The MFAFT is also moving to further diversify the different ways in which Barbados represents and promotes its interests overseas. Consequently, a Commercial and Cultural Officer will be stationed in the Barbados High Commission in Accra, Ghana; while a Diaspora Relations Officer will be incorporated into the staff complement at the Barbados High Commission to the United Kingdom in London.

We now propose to engage in an enhanced platform of commercial diplomacy, working with both the private sector and public sector, in order to deepen trade relations with other countries and bring about an increase in Barbados’ exports of its goods and services. Enhanced commercial diplomacy will lead to an expanded network to support trade, especially South-South trade. It is the Ministry’s intention, over time, to place additional commercial attachés in the overseas diplomatic Missions, and to better utilize the Honorary Consul network in this endeavour to build on opportunities for trade and business.

The Ministry will also be advancing the country’s economic interests abroad through enhanced engagement with the Barbadian diaspora and Friends of Barbados community. The diaspora community is an under-used asset with regard to its networks, skills and resources. The Ministry intends to more purposefully leverage the power of the diaspora and Friends of Barbados groupings in order to systematically facilitate and enhance their contribution to Barbadian society and economy, especially through innovation and entrepreneurship, partnerships in various sectors, sustainable philanthropic initiatives, and attractive investment opportunities.

In this regard, Ms. Everil Lewis will be appointed as Diaspora Relations Officer in the High Commission to the United Kingdom; and

Mr. Phil Phillips as Commercial and Cultural Attaché in the High Commission to the Republic of Ghana.

The aforementioned, will take place within the framework of a renewed Country Team mechanism and concomitantly with the development of an efficient coordinating mechanism for External Engagement; which the Cabinet approved last Thursday.

Turning now to Barbados’ bilateral relations across rest of the globe. In North America, the Ministry will actively engage with the new administration in the United States of America, through its overseas Missions in the US and primarily its Embassy in Washington D.C. Barbados’

Barbados will continue to adopt a proactive posture in lobbying US lawmakers and engaging with the federal government. Key priorities include the return of US leadership to the climate negotiation process as an opportunity to secure a new climate financing architecture that meets the scale of the climate crisis in small island states; support for the initiatives launched by Prime Minister Mottley with regard to debt restructuring, debt deferrals and/or other instruments and the issue of the vulnerability index which relate directly to SIDS like Barbados.

In our hemisphere, having established a new Mission in Panama last year, the Ministry will be developing a new Latin American strategy. Latin America offers a great deal of potential for trade, investment, education, health care, disaster management, hemispheric security and cultural diplomacy.  Our Missions in Brazil, Panama, and Venezuela will be involved closely in this exercise, both from their place of residence as well as their non-resident accreditations. 

Within the Caribbean Community, the Ministry will continue to pursue Barbados’ priority of increased regional engagement and strengthened integration; particularly as it relates to our joint cooperation Agreements with Guyana and Suriname.

Within the wider Caribbean region, I must mention the importance to Barbados of the progressive strengthening of its partnership with Cuba, inter alia through the presence here of the Medical Brigade from Havana. I express our sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Cuba.

I wish to draw your attention now to Asia in general and the People’s Republic of China in particular.

You will be aware that, even in the midst of the global pandemic, China has continued to provide support to Barbados in our fight against the novel corona virus through the donation of considerable quantities of PPE and other items. Remarkably, China is the one major global economy that has continued on its growth path throughout 2020 and 2021 and is expected to continue on this accelerated growth path. More broadly speaking, Asia as a whole has shown great resilience and leadership during this pandemic.

For these reasons, it remains the policy of this Government to continue the strengthening and deepening of our diplomatic relations with the countries of this region.

For example, in 2019 I signed an agreement with China regarding cooperation in the implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure development programme which will enable us to upgrade and build out our physical infrastructure. We are also looking towards deepening our cooperation in the area of public health with the support of medical teams coming from China. These are just two examples of how this valuable relationship with China continues to grow from strength to strength.

I also wish to draw your attention to the expansion of Barbados’ diplomatic network in Asia. For the first time in decades, Barbados in 2020 appointed an Honorary Consul in Tokyo and approval has been granted for our Ambassador in Beijing to be accredited on a non-resident basis to Japan, which is a very important bilateral partner. Barbados is also working to accredit our Embassy in Beijing to Singapore, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand so as to develop relationships with these dynamic countries and to provide more opportunities for Barbadian goods and services in those markets.

Barbados’ gratitude for the generosity and solidarity of India in the ongoing provision of technical cooperation, and most recently 100,000 units of the Covishield vaccine as well as PPE for our fight against COVID is a matter of public record, and I take this opportunity to reaffirm our deepest appreciation to India.

Turning to the continent of Africa, I have already reflected on Barbados’ current priorities for Africa in speaking earlier about the benefits that will accrue from the opening of diplomatic Missions in Nairobi, Kenya and Accra, Ghana. I will at this point just emphasize Barbados’ appreciation for the team of nurses who have come from Ghana to assist us in areas of critical health care.

With respect to the Gulf States, I also previously highlighted the importance to Barbados of developing and strengthening its bilateral relationships in this region, and the fact that our new Embassy in Abu Dhabi will be used as a portal for us to this part of the world. I take this opportunity to recall the significant donation of PPE and supplies to fight COVID which was generously made by the Government and people of the UAE last year to Barbados and other CARICOM member states.

The United Kingdom remains a key partner for Barbados. Our historical relationship has modern day benefits for both countries, and I look forward to participating actively in the 10th UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum which will be convened virtually on March 18 to discuss issues of significant relevance to Barbados including economic resilience, the vulnerability of SIDS, the climate crisis and COP26, disaster preparedness, trade for development and multi-dimensional security.

Turning to the continent of Europe, the Ministry and its Embassies accredited to the European Union and its Member States will increase the coordination of their efforts to deepen Barbados’ bilateral relationships with partners in Europe, with the aim of strengthening our cooperation with European institutions and Barbados’ relations with traditional partners.  In addition, the Ministry and its Embassies will work towards forging new relationships and partnerships with those European countries with which we are not yet fully familiar, and that are not familiar with us.

The new Partnership Agreement recently concluded between the Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU) and expected to be signed later this year, presents a very important comprehensive opportunity for Barbados to obtain support for its priorities.  This new Agreement, which is anticipated to last approximately 20 years, establishes a strengthened political partnership between the OACPS and the EU to generate mutually beneficial outcomes on common and intersected interests and in accordance with shared values. 

In bringing to a close this part of my statement on Barbados’ bilateral relationships, I wish to note that the Ministry will continue to work with the

I wish to now turn to the issue of:

Reaffirming multilateralism and deepening engagement with like-minded alliances

Multilateralism has always been one of the cornerstones of Barbados’ foreign policy and due to its rules-based systems multilateralism has remained an essential tool for advancing Barbados’ development, economic, political, security and environmental agendas. 

Barbados is unequivocally committed to a diplomacy of peace and prosperity through international dialogue, and we recognize the unique role that the United Nations plays in guaranteeing the sovereign equality and independence of small states in the international community. 

Barbados’ belief in the United Nations is why we have taken the step of establishing a third Permanent Mission to the UN in Nairobi. This Permanent Mission will join Barbados’ Permanent Missions to the UN Headquarters in New York and the UN Office in Geneva which serve as important portals for our work in the international community.

The priority issues and strategic interests that Barbados will continue to pursue with like-minded allies in these three UN locales include:

  • The implementation of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
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  • The establishment of a multidimensional vulnerability index for SIDS and Middle Income Countries (MICs) given that vulnerability is a significant factor affecting trade and development assistance and adequate means are needed to tackle high debt levels and the continued decline of correspondent banking.
  • The creation of an inclusive, intergovernmental body on tax matters under the UN to counter the imbalance that exists between OECD countries and developing countries within the context of setting international tax norms.
  • Emphasizing the nexus between development and international peace and security; taking action to address the security challenges facing the region through the proliferation of small arms and light weapons; and recognizing the multi-dimensional nature of security which also includes food security.
  • Strengthening the international frameworks dealing with the climate crisis; financing for development; SIDS issues; and NCDs.

It is for this reason that Ambassador Elizabeth Thompson will now be based in Bridgetown with special responsibility for matters of climate change, SIDS issues and the Law of the Sea.

Conclusion

As I close, I wish to note that the MFAFT is in the process of modernizing and restructuring its human resource complement, organizational structure and operational processes. These steps which are so very critical to the existence of a fully capable and fit-for-purpose team will underpin the success of the Ministry’s future endeavours.

In addition, the Ministry is pursuing the upgrading of its IT infrastructural capacity both at Headquarters and in the overseas Missions – with the end result of having an enhanced platform of digital diplomacy and the use of innovative technologies in the delivery of Barbados’ foreign policy and international trade policy objectives. Using technology we hope to revolutionize the way in which Barbados will conduct its Diplomatic activities.

Like many other Ministries, we have had to reduce our budget for the upcoming Financial Year, and like the rest of Government we will work tirelessly to promote and protect the interests of Barbados and Barbadians. While utilizing our Foreign policy initiatives to give us elbow room domestically to create opportunities for our people.

We don’t need large Embassies to expand our Global footprints, but this Government will always be committed to creating Global citizens with Bajan roots.

I thank you.

By Foreign Affairs