Barbados and the Republic of Panama now have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Bilateral Relations.
The documents were signed and exchanged today during the 36th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. The meeting, which ends today, is being held the Hilton Barbados Resort, Needhams Point, St. Michael.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, who signed on behalf of Barbados, noted that the MOU was an important opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
“There are significant opportunities that present themselves which should be mutually beneficial, and we anticipate in Barbados that we will seize them,” she said. The Foreign Minister added that one significant benefit would be efforts by each country to encourage citizens to learn the other’s language.
“We look forward to welcoming your students and teachers as you pursue your Panama bilingual exercise. We in Barbados have long recognised the importance of ensuring that we are bilingual, and that is in fact the window through which our efforts will pass. We have been separated too long by language and once we address that, a lot of things will flow from that,” Senator McClean stated.
Signing on behalf of the Republic of Panama was Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Miguel Hincapié. He agreed that the MOU was an opportunity for deeper relations between the two countries, adding that as well as education, a number of other possibilities would be explored, including commerce and tourism. This agreement opens a new era for us,” he pointed out.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart; and the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez, were also present at the signing.
