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| (left to right) Richard Sealy, Minister of Tourism, John Beale, Ambassador of Barbados to Washington and Bentley Gibbs, Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade;????in discussion with Vice-Minister, H.E. Francisco Alvarez DeSoto and Panamanian Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Arline Gonzalez Costa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Panama. (F.Ince/BGIS) |
Barbados’ Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, who is leading the trade mission to Panama, has had a number of official meetings to advance the island’s cause.
Mr. Sealy, along with Minister of Industry, Small Business and Rural Development, Denis Kellman, accompanied by officials of the Division of Foreign Trade and Foreign affairs met yesterday with Vice Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, His Excellency Francisco Alvarez De Soto.
During that meeting, they discussed, among other things, air links, cultural exchanges, the 2014 celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal and ensuring that the contribution of Caribbean people to the construction of the Canal is highlighted, the twinning of Panama City with Bridgetown, and the possibility of Panama being a future location to expand Barbados’ network of diplomatic missions.
They also exchanged views on the future of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which is a group of 25 states in the Caribbean region, formed in 1994 to promote social, political and economic cooperation. The ACS’ membership includes the states of the Caribbean and Central America, as well as Colombia, Suriname and Venezuela.