Deepening of the longstanding 55-year relationship between Barbados and Japan was the centre of discussions between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Barbados, Kayoko Fukushima, during a courtesy call today, at the Ministry’s Headquarters.
Minister Walcott welcomed Mrs. Fukushima to Barbados and extended thanks on behalf of the government for the support that Japan has provided the island, over the years.
He cited, as examples, the provision of financing towards “The Project For Improving National Sargassum Management Capacities In The Caribbean” and post-COVID-19 recovery assistance for micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as climate change, disaster risk management and mitigation and procurement of ventilators during the early onset of COVID-19.
Expressing an interest in a greater and deeper relationship with Japan, both bilaterally and within the international framework, the Minister wished Mrs. Fukushima an enjoyable and successful tenure.
In response, Resident Ambassador Fukushima said she would do her best to further promote and enhance the cherished relationship between the two countries.
Other areas which the two envoys discussed included: Barbados obtaining Republican status; economic cooperation; food security; the Japan Exchange/English Teaching Programme and BIE Expo 2025, which will be held in Osaka, Japan.
Barbados and Japan established diplomatic relations on August 29, 1967. In 2016, Japan established an Embassy in Barbados and had its first resident Ambassador to Barbados, Shinada Teruhiko, whose posting finished in April of this year.