Prime Minister Mia Mottley will participate in a number of overseas meetings and engagements in France and the United Kingdom over the next week.
She led a delegation, which includes Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Jerome Walcott, and the Director of International Business, Kevin Hunte, that held discussions with Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ludger Schuknecht, and his team, in France, over the last two days.
Barbados currently participates in the work of the OECD through direct involvement in several of its bodies, including the Forum for Harmful Tax Practices. Its work in the different fora of the OECD remains critical to the country’s overall reputation on the international stage.
It is important Barbados meets its commitments to the OECD and participates in the rule-making process, focusing attention on the particular concerns of small-island developing states.
Mottley was also invited to deliver one of the keynote addresses, along with the President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde, at the first FIFA Women’s Football Convention, also in Paris, ahead of the kick-off of the eighth FIFA Women’s World Cup today.
The convention assembled leaders in sports and politics for the first time, to discuss key issues around the development and empowerment of women in football.
The Prime Minister will be addressing Barbadians living in the United Kingdom in London tomorrow, and on Sunday, June 9, she will meet with Commonwealth Secretary General, Baroness Patricia Scotland. They will discuss initiatives to promote transparency and fight corruption, promote renewable energy and access legislative drafting skills.
On Monday, the Prime Minister will meet with the Vice Chancellor of Oxford University before speaking at the Oxford Union. The Union is known as the world’s most prestigious debating society, with an unequalled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford.
There will also be a number of other meetings and engagements during the London visit.
While Mottley is on official business, Minister of Housing, Lands and Rural Development, George Payne, will perform the functions of Prime Minister. (PR/SAT)
