Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, has praised the economic strides made by Vietnam over the past 30 years despite some initial setbacks by war and other unforeseen circumstances.

During a courtesy call with the Special Envoy of the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Tung Le Thanh, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senator Mcclean said the country had recorded significant achievements despite the earlier challenges.

She said: ???We certainly recognise??? your desire to work as part of the global community to address critical issues including human rights and that is important for us as well.???

Although Barbados and Vietnam established diplomatic ties several years ago, Senator McClean said the completion of a Double Taxation Treaty would not only be beneficial to the local business community, but to the country as a whole.

??????As you know, Barbados has a very significant offshore financial services sector and as we strive to remain competitive, we are doing so against a background of operating according to best practices. So, any agreement signed would be done against the background of our continued efforts to operate within the framework of the rules and standards of the OECS. From that perspective, we as a small jurisdiction have been very successful to date,??? she added.

Apart from furthering diplomatic ties with Barbados, the Special Envoy also expressed the desire to forge greater ties between his country???s Association of South East Asia Nations and CARICOM.

Barbados and Vietnam established diplomatic ties on August 25, 1995.

julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb

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