Barbados Suriname To Deepen Bilateral Cooperation
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (GIS) – Barbados is looking to deepen bilateral cooperation with its CARICOM neighbour Suriname, particularly in trade, infrastructure, and agriculture. And, as the island scales up its infrastructural investment, it is hoping to source vital raw materials, namely silica sand and aggregate, from the South American nation.
This disclosure came from senior minister coordinating the productive sector and minister of energy, business development and commerce, Kerrie Symmonds, as he chaired a meeting with local and Surinamese officials and a senior delegation from N.V. Grassalco of Suriname, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, recently.
“We have traditionally relied on a large measure of silica and contribution to aggregate coming from Barbados, but those resources have run very slender. And so now we are in the business of importing much of those things that we need. I want to lay that platform so that we can set the context for our discussion, as we look at issues of regional food security, expanding trade and facilitating investment, and obviously energy and business cooperation,” Symmonds explained.
Chief executive officer of mining company N.V. Grassalco, Johan Seymor, supported reciprocal trading between Suriname and Barbados.“I see that you have limestone and we have aggregate, so we are looking further to support the infrastructure and every kind of metal that Barbados needs,” he added.
Special Envoy to the prime minister of Barbados, Alphea Wiggins, emphasised that air services between the two countries were integral for business travel, technical missions, and institutional follow-up, whereas maritime services were equally critical to the movement of bulk commodities and construction materials.
“Sustained air and maritime connectivity must therefore be treated as part of the commercial architecture that we are seeking to build between Barbados and Suriname,” Wiggins maintained.
The meeting between Barbados and Suriname aimed to transform bilateral frameworks into practical cooperation, and address issues such as plant propagation, product specifications, certification, shipping, tourism, and logistics, to enhance regional integration and trade.
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