Barbados’ Ambassador to Panama and Central America, Ian Walcott, presented credentials to the President of the Republic of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, on Thursday, April 25. The presentation of credentials accredits him as Barbados’ diplomatic envoy to Honduras.
Ambassador Walcott shared that the Government of Honduras is keen to consider a number of agreements with Barbados, including air services, cultural cooperation, and a double taxation treaty.
“This represents an important milestone in Barbados’ foreign policy as we signal to our Central American neighbours that we are ready to further engage them politically, commercially, and culturally,” Ambassador Walcott stated.
He noted that engagements remain essentially in the multilateral arena of the Association of Caribbean States, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Organization of American States, and the United Nations as members of the Group of Latin and Caribbean States.
At the regional level, the relationship between CARICOM and the Central American Integration System provides an additional forum for engagement between Barbados and Honduras. However, it is expected that with Barbados’ renewed diplomatic focus on Central America, bilateral relations with Honduras will become a lot more active.
“Over the next few months, we will see more Central and Latin American countries accredited to Barbados by opening new embassies in Bridgetown or shifting their non-resident ambassadors to Panama City. Now that we have the frequency of COPA Airline flights between Panama and Barbados, it makes sense for many of our diplomatic partners to operate from Panama City because of the easy connection between the two countries. Honduras is one such country that has responded positively to this recommendation.
“Finally, we continue to build out Barbados’ impressive network of Honorary Consuls. This has served us very well in the past and assures our citizens that their interests are well looked after anywhere in the world. In this region, we currently have such Consuls in Panama, Guatemala, Colombia, and Costa Rica. We will widen this network shortly with our usual meticulous recruitment process,” Ambassador Walcott added.
The envoy has extended invitations to the Diaspora and to its Central American friends to participate in the upcoming We Gatherin’ 2025 and CARIFESTA 2025, which is being hosted by Barbados.
During the presentation of credentials, congratulations were extended to President Castro on her ascension to the Pro-Tempore Presidency of the CELAC. Barbados established diplomatic relations with Honduras on December 7, 1992.