By Julie Carrington
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The new Canadian High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados, Her Excellency Brenda Hope-Wills, has pledged to deepen the existing ties between the two countries while identifying new areas of cooperation.
Her Excellency Hope-Wills has also committed to “increasing” Canada’s reach by building on the foundation laid by her predecessor Her Excellency Lilian Chatterjee, during a recent courtesy call with prime minister Mia Amor Mottley at government headquarters.
The High Commissioner congratulated the prime minister on launching the Bridgetown Initiative 3.0 on the sidelines of the recently concluded UN General Assembly and pointed to the shared commitment between the two countries to fight the climate crisis and its deleterious effects on small island developing states.
Prime Minister Mottley spoke of the long-standing and friendly relationship with Canada and the ongoing work with prime minister Justin Trudeau and other officials on areas of shared interests.
The prime minister also provided an update on Barbados’ renewable energy efforts and the need for adequate energy storage capabilities.
“If we don’t do it, the country is not going to get the benefit of renewable energy and the people who we want to benefit, in terms of democratisation and for wider home ownership, will not get it. But, we will continue to press ahead,” prime minister Mottley stated.
On the point of renewable energy, Her Excellency Hope-Wills noted the strong presence of Canadian companies in Barbados and pointed out that Canada was big on clean energy and was keen to collaborate with Barbados in this area.
The two officials also discussed the proposed Grantley Adams International Airport Expansion Project, Barbados’ population decline, managed migration, regional security, and the ongoing crisis in Haiti, among other matters.