Barbados will be seeking to take advantage of the US$ 512 million (four billion yuan) being offered by the Republic of China to this country and other Caribbean states for their development over the next three years.
That is the word from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Development, Mia Amor Mottley, who was briefing the press today about her recent visits to China and the United Kingdom.
She said it was at the Second China-Caribbean Forum that it was recognised there was a need for China to develop a more mature relationship with the Caribbean, “to be able to deal with some of the issues that could be a platform to facilitate further investment” and to assist with the increase of Caribbean exports to China.
According to her, the pledge of assistance represented China’s commitment to the region and reflected the nature of the excellent relationship between the two.
Ms. Mottley explained that the proposed assistance would seek to achieve six platforms: to improve trade conditions and promote balance trade; provide financial support to promote investment cooperation; expand the training scale and strengthen capacity building; broaden technical exchanges and deepen cooperation in agriculture and fishery; implement tourism agreements and promote tourism cooperation; and step up personnel exchanges and enhance mutual understanding.