During a courtesy call from Australia’s High Commissioner to Barbados, Bruce Lendon, at Ilaro Court on Friday, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said she wants to deepen cooperation, especially in the area of the blue economy, with emphasis on coral reefs.
Mottley underscored the importance of protecting the coral reefs, and the work being done in that area.
Additionally, she said cooperation in education would give young people an opportunity to interact and have exchanges. She reiterated her view that our young people must be empowered to become global citizens, with Barbadian roots.
As Mottley prepared to join world leaders who are gathering in Glasgow this weekend for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), she emphasised the need to limit global warming.
She said that if the 1.5 degrees’ Celsius limit could not be met, then small island developing states would need money and technical assistance to help with adaptation, which must be done over the next 10 to 12 years.
Unplanned development, she pointed out, was being seen, and it had to be addressed before lives were lost.
Mottley said that in fighting the accumulating debt from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and climate change, “out of the box thinking” was required.
Lendon said he was pleased that Barbados was interested in furthering its cooperation with Australia in the areas identified by Mottley, and suggested that they should work to ensure they became a reality.
With regard to climate change, he noted that people were recognising that it was a real phenomenon, as they were seeing its risks and dangers.
Matters related to energy were also discussed.
Those in attendance included the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr Jerome Walcott; Deputy Permanent Secretary in that Ministry, Donna Forde, and Australia’s Honorary Consul to Barbados, James Gardiner. (SA/BGIS)
