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(From left to right) Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Drainage, Edison Alleyne; Cuban Ambassador Lissette??Per??z Per??z; and Environment Minister, Dr. Denis Lowe pose prior to their recent courtesy call.??(Ministry of the??Environment)

The prospects of Barbados and Cuba collaborating on environmental issues are under consideration as the two countries share similar visions on the green economy.

And, Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr. Denis Lowe, has indicated his Ministry’s readiness to start a conversation with Cuba by establishing points of interest, and outlining Barbados’ areas of success and those where there are needs.

These were among issues discussed during a recent courtesy call by the Cuban Ambassador, Lissette Per??z Per??z as she held talks with the Environment Minister, Permanent Secretary, Edison Alleyne, and other officials at the Ministry’s Hincks Street location.

In seeking to build the relationship between the two countries, Dr. Lowe said he would like to see how communication on environmental issues could be accelerated.

"We had a number of exchanges over the years, and my aim is to find a niche where we could find endeavours…We need to establish what Barbados and Cuba could do today relative to environmental issues," he noted, as he outlined Barbados’ Solid Waste Management programme which includes a shift from landfilling, to the conversion of waste-to-energy.

The Minister told the envoy that he was aware of the strides Cuba had made in a number of areas, and that the country was also fully on board with the pursuit of a green economy.

However, he expressed the hope that more countries would adopt the policy. "What I want to see is that we seriously concretise a way forward and that a platform be built on what Cuba can offer us in terms of knowledge and expertise and vice versa," Dr. Lowe stated.

Ambassador Per??z Per??z stressed that matters of the environment were treated as critical issues in Cuba, and a number of projects were ongoing. She said that she wanted to start the dialogue between the two countries on this subject.

Other topics discussed during the visit included climate change, biodiversity, land degradation, renewable energy and the transition towards the use of natural refrigerants.

Barbados and Cuba established diplomatic ties in December 1972.

julia.rawlins-bentham@barbados.gov.bb

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