Economic stability linked to CARICOM

(Barbados Today) Barbados does not have the capacity, given its population, to go it alone to achieve economic development, and thus should be more welcoming of its regional neighbours, said Prime Minister Mia Mottley, as Parliament moved to tweak the law governing the entry of skilled CARICOM nationals.

Introducing the CARICOM Freedom of Movement of Persons Amendment Bill to the House of Assembly this evening, she declared: “Barbados has a trade surplus with one region in the world, and that is the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, as well as with Guyana.

“So when xenophobic statements come, we forget to recognise our economic stability is linked to our neighbours, and Trinidad is where the second or third largest source of investment into Barbados comes from.

“And when we add that one in every five visitors to Barbados comes from the CARICOM region, we begin to understand why the political party I lead has a constitutional objective to pursue regional integration.

“We cannot survive only on the 280,000 people who live here, because we do not have enough economic activity on our own.”

Read more at: Barbados Today

Source: CARICOM TODAY