Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business, Donville Inniss

Issues relating to development and disaster management within the region were discussed recently when newly appointed United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator, Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, called on Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business, Donville Inniss.

Mrs. Gyles-McDonnough said she was looking forward to working closely with Caribbean countries to promote the development agenda. She opined that for countries to reach the development status a different approach and support mechanism would be necessary “to break through a plateau”. She added that there were many areas where UNDP programmes and regional programmes could be complementary.

Minister Inniss welcomed the effort to forge closer ties, and praised the UNDP for the tremendous work it has been doing in Barbados and other Caribbean countries. He stressed the importance of allocating resources for disaster management and the need for more community involvement to assist with any new initiatives in this area.

The Minister added that against the background of the recent earth tremor in Barbados, the focus will not only be on hurricanes with the season already underway, but on other disasters.

Both parties also touched on matters pertaining to climate change.

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