As part of the two-day official visit by the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, government ministers from both countries discussed several areas for cooperation during a bilateral meeting.
The meeting, which was held today at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, and Senegal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismaila Madior Fall.
Mr. Symmonds said he welcomed the official visit and saw it as an opportunity to strengthen engagements, as the two countries seek to work harmoniously for their mutual benefit and development.
“I’m very confident that our discussions here today will be productive and that we will identify opportunities which are appropriate for progressive engagements and cooperation between Senegal and Barbados. It is my judgment that there is tremendous scope to deepen the bilateral relationship between Barbados and Senegal at all levels,” the Minister stated.
In response, Minister Fall said: “The bilateral relations between our two countries are not as deep as we would like. However, … we are available to go deeper into those topics which are of great interest for our cooperation.”
Areas of cooperation discussed during the bilateral meeting include support for the Bridgetown Initiative; Water Scarcity Management; Fisheries; Climate Change; Finalising an Air Services Agreement; Culture; Heritage Tourism; Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security; and Sports.
Following the bilateral meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding on Political Cooperation was signed by Ministers Symmonds and Fall.
Barbados established diplomatic ties with the Republic of Senegal on March 18, 1976.