Barbados is moving to pursue a bilateral development agenda with Saint Lucia, newly installed High Commissioner to Saint Lucia David Commissiong announced on Wednesday.
He outlined at least ten broad areas of collaboration as he presented His Letter of Credence to Governor General Cyril Errol Melchaides Charles at a ceremony where Ambassadors from Argentina, Turkey, Switzerland and the Holy See were also accredited.
Noting the long and fruitful association between Castries and Bridgetown which established diplomatic relations in 1979, Commissiong stressed: “We believe that there will be much to be gained if our nations collaborate and partner with each other on such issues as education, health care, sports, fisheries, sustainable tourism, youth development, crime reduction, beach preservation, collaboration in the arts, and the encouragement of investment by our private sectors in each other’s country.”
He highlighted that the neighbouring countries have long built a solid foundation for close ties, highlighting that they struggled together against the evils of colonialism, and to establish a Caribbean labour movement, and collaborated in both the establishment of the West Indies Federal Labour Party and the actual leadership of the West Indies Federation, with Barbados’ Grantley Adams and Saint Lucia’s Carl La Corbiniere serving as premier and deputy Premier of the federation, respectively.
(SD)
