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The catastrophic events of September 11th, 2001, and the extraordinary
actions they have propelled in the fight against terrorism,
have injected a new and profoundly disturbing level of uncertainty
and unpredictability into the conduct of international affairs.
Global insecurity has heavily impacted
Caribbean economies, and has presented and will continue to
present serious challenges to our
vital tourism and financial services sectors.
As a
consequence, the Barbados Foreign Service must strengthen
and diversify its diplomatic coverage, particularly in the
hemisphere, and must create strategic alliances with likeminded
states to advance shared interest globally. It must also remain
in the forefront of the continuing efforts to build an effective
and cohesive small states lobby to energise the debate on
that constituency’s concerns in all the corridors of
power.
The central
objective of trade policy will be to position Barbados to
secure a viable place in the global economy, exploiting to
the fullest our human capital endowments.
The
BLP Government’s diplomatic and negotiating effort will
give priority:
- Pursuing
in our Caribbean neighbourhood deeper, broader and faster
liberalisation among ourselves as the foundation for liberalisation
with the wider world;
- Maintaining
Barbados’ leadership in the effort to bring into force
the Caribbean Community Single
Market and Economy (CSME);
- Working
closely with the Private Sector to exploit to the maximum
the economic and trade benefits provided by the CSME;
- Concluding
maritime delimitation agreements with Trinidad and Tobago,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia and France (Martinique);
- Promoting
the establishment within CARICOM of a Common Fisheries Regime
to allow for the rational and sustainable exploitation of
the region’s shared living marine resources;
- Positioning
Barbados to exploit the opportunities of the Free Trade
Area of the Americas, through the development of new and
non-traditional economic linkages, in tourism, financial
services, trade and investment, with our developing country
partners in South and Central America;
- Diversifying
our diplomatic coverage through the establishment of a resident
mission in Brazil, and giving consideration to a further
resident presence in a selected Central American Country;
- Consolidating
our valuable partnerships with Canada, the United States,
the People’s Republic of China and Latin America,
with particular emphasis on trade, financial services and
investment;
- Promoting
and defending small states issues and concerns internationally,
at the Commonwealth, the International Financial Institutions
and in the FTAA EU/ACP and WTO negotiations;
- Participating
actively in the negotiations to create the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005, revise the trade provisions
of the Cotonou Agreement between the ACP and EU countries
by 2007, reforming existing WTO Agreements and fashion new
multilateral rules; and working to ensure that Barbados
benefits from the outcome of these trade negotiations;
- Promoting
Barbados as a source of knowledge-based services and seeking
to ensure that international trade agreements provide avenues
for the export of services;
- Coordinating
the efforts of the Country Team abroad to promote Barbados’
development priorities as well as to brand and market the
Barbados model internationally;
- Expanding
the network of Honorary Consuls in strategic locations throughout
the world;
- Maintaining
and building upon the successful facilitation programme
for Returning Nationals,
focusing in particular on initiatives to encourage overseas
nationals to invest in Barbados, or participate actively
in other aspects of its economic development.
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