Barbados and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states are reaffirming their commitment to deepen ties with Africa, Barbados Today reported on Sunday, Sept. 8,
During a flag-raising ceremony held on Saturday at government headquarters as part of the third annual AfricaCARICOM Day.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kerrie Symmonds reiterated the government’s goal of improving economic and social opportunities for both parties.
“The administration of which I am a part made it abundantly clear from the time we assumed office in 2018 that we were going to place at the very centerpiece of the foreign policy of Barbados a deeper relationship with the African continent,” Symmonds said. “We took that posture largely because we understood that it was time, in the language of our Prime Minister, to close our Atlantic destiny. We also took that posture in the very firm and certain and unequivocal knowledge that our relationship with Africa is one that is rooted in blood and it is anchored by history.”
During her remarks, CARICOM Secretary General Carla Barnett said it was important for CARICOM and Africa to speak with one voice on the issue of reparatory justice.
“Reinforcing CARICOM’s call to European colonizers for reparatory justice for centuries of crimes against humanity committed in our region, both CARICOM and Africa have an indisputable and significant claim to reparations for the egregious transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, centuries of chattel slavery and genocide of Indigenous peoples of the region,” Barnett said.