Barbados Port Inc. (BPI) and the Manzanillo International Terminal of Panama signed an International Sister Seaports Agreement during the recently concluded Barbados Network Consultation 3rd Diaspora Conference.
The Agreement was signed during the Pathways to Panama session by Chairman David Harding and Chief Executive Officer, David Jean-Marie on behalf of the BPI and by Senior Vice President, Carlos Urriola and General Manager, Stacy Hatfield, on behalf of Manzanillo International Terminal of Panama.
The Sister Ports Agreement will pave the way for the two ports to discuss ways in which they can share information, establish mutually beneficial training opportunities, and explore areas of cooperation and partnering that could be of joint benefit to the two ports and their respective countries.
The Agreement recognises the contribution which Barbadians made to the development of Panama through the Panama Canal (1850-1914), which saw tens of thousands of Barbadians leaving the Careenage in Bridgetown to work in Panama.
The areas of collaboration in the Agreement are: the Barbados Port Inc. through its Chairman and the officials and the Manzanillo International Terminal through its Director and Senior Executive Managers must execute the International Sister Seaport Agreement; both ports will commit to the free and uninhibited exchange of information pertaining to the cargo and cruise industries in each port.
Additionally, both ports, through best efforts, will promote the commercial opportunities that may be of mutual benefit to parties; they will work towards the exchange of cultural and historical information on the Barbados-Panama relationship, for the benefit of the communities of the respective sister ports and nationals and through the mutual agreement of both sister ports, additional areas of cooperation and partnering may be explored as a part of the Sister Seaports Agreement.
Chief Executive Officer of the BPI, Mr. Jean-Marie, welcomed the opportunity to work closely with a high-performing port such as Manzanillo International Terminal which is one of the leading ports in the Western Hemisphere.
???We expect that our management and staff at the Bridgetown Port will benefit from technical exchanges, particularly in the area of cargo equipment, handling, engineering and benchmarking,??? he added.
julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb