BARBADOS, January 19, 2020 — Addressing a gala to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the late Barbados prime minister and regional integrationist, Errol W. Barrow, on Saturday night, Prime Minister Mottley said that she is conscious that in the next week, questions will be asked as to whether the Barbados Foreign Minister “happened to be missing in a meeting in Kingston in Jamaica that will take place on Tuesday.”
“We don’t look to pick fights. I don’t look to pick fights, but I am conscious that if this country does not stand for something, then it will fall for anything. As chairman of CARICOM, it is impossible for me to agree that my Foreign Minister should attend a meeting with anyone to which members of CARICOM are not invited. If some are invited and not all, then it is an attempt to divide this region,” Mottley told the ceremony.
Earlier this week, Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson-Smith, said Pompeo’s two-day working visit, which begins on January 21, is a commitment to strengthen relations with the Caribbean.
“We welcome the visit of Secretary Pompeo as a demonstration of the commitment of the United States of America to once more strengthen its engagement with Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. We truly look forward to this opportunity to engage and reinforce our longstanding ties,” she added.
Pompeo will hold talks with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and senior members of his cabinet on the second day of the visit and is expected to give a policy speech on the Caribbean region’s critical importance to the United States, and the country’s renewed commitment to closer ties, based on shared values, interests and economic prosperity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said.
Both the Jamaica Gleaner and the Observer newspaper, quoting sources, said that Pompeo is also due to meet with several Caribbean leaders. But a CARICOM source told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the regional grouping had not been formally invited to participate in the discussions during Pompeo’s visit. See complete article in the BUZZ at https://buzz-caribbean.com/article/barbados-pm-urges-caribbean-unity-ahead-of-us-secretary-of-states-visit-to-region/
