Barbados–France relations
Encyclopedia
Bardadian-French relations are the bilateral relations between the two countries, Barbados
and France
. Both countries have established diplomatic relations on May 3, 1968. Barbados is represented in France through its embassy in Brussels
(Belgium
). France is represented in Barbados through its embassy in Port of Spain
(Trinidad and Tobago
), led by and an additional honorary consulate in Bridgetown.
, such as Guadeloupe
and Martinique
. The Government of France supports 22 programmes in Barbados and ties including trade between Barbados and the French Departments
in the Americas has been steadily increasing. Attention in Barbados is currently being paid towards the creation of the "CARIFORUM French Caribbean Task Force" which will guide the way forward on regularised cooperation with the overseas areas of France.
In 2006 the former Prime Minister Owen Arthur
had announced that Barbados would begin to settle its maritime boundaries with France
due to Martinique
's overlapping maritime boundary
with Barbados. Preliminary discussions have started and are on-going to settle the maritime boundary between France and Barbados.
In 2007 the Dominican Republic and Caribbean Community bloc known as CARIFORUM began final negotiates for an Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA) between the Caribbean and European Union regions. During the negotiations an intense debate developed between Barbadian and French authorities over a provision that would allow certain classes of Caribbean nationals to be granted free movement within the European Union
in exchange for the removal of tariffs on European products such as automobiles and mobile phones to the Caribbean.
The Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur said the disagreement threatened to derail talks and stating to the media:
Talks proceeded shortly after and the agreement was agreed upon between the two regions on 16 December 2007.
As a followup of the Economic Partnership Agreement
, in May 2009 the European Union
(Schengen Area
) signed a visa
waiver agreement with Barbados and five other nations around the world allowing the citizens of the nations involved to travel visa free for up to three months to each others' territories. The visa-waiver agreement covers both Barbados and France however not the French territories
. The Barbados Government indicated though that negotiations would be on-going to reach an agreement with France to allow for visa-free travel to the French Territories and Outer Departments
(French: départements d'outre-mer and territoires d'outre-mer) in future.
The Barbadian private sector organisation known as the Private Sector Trade Team (PSTT) has taken an increasingly active interest in encouraging Barbadians businesses to expand their trade with the territories of France under the same EPA agreement.
French citizens in Barbados held the second Bastille Day celebration in 2009. The celebration at Brandon's Beach, Saint Michael was sponsored by the French Honorary Consulate in Barbados, as well as the Mount Gay Rum company. During the event it was outlined that Alliance Française de Bridgetown was actively pursuing several initiatives with the Barbadian Ministry of Education concerning French culture.
In 2009 the Barbados Tourism Authority began placing large emphasis on developing air-links between the French West Indies and Barbados through the sponsorship of charter flights.
In September 2009 the French Frigate "The Ventôse", commanded by Captain Pascal Le Barbier docked in Bridgetown, Barbados following a joint anti-drug campaign by both nations. During the visit the Ambassador of France in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados, Mr. Michel Trinquier visited with French nationals living in Barbados.
In June 2010 French officials from Martinique
's Regional Council and Chamber of Commerce
visited Barbados for a three day dialogue on formal cultural exchanges and joint-collaboration between industries in the both countries.
In July 2011 the French Mayor Jose Toribio of Lamentin
, Guadeloupe
, toured over a dozen primary schools in Barbados. He met with the Barbadian Minister of Education, Ronald Jones where both counterparts discussed several avenues of cooperation between Barbados and France including a student and teacher exchanges and cooperation in furthering an English–French immersion between Barbados and the French Departments. The leaders also spoke of a desire for a more regional approach to education.
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Both countries have established diplomatic relations on May 3, 1968. Barbados is represented in France through its embassy in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
). France is represented in Barbados through its embassy in Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
(Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
), led by and an additional honorary consulate in Bridgetown.
Bilateral relations
The bilateral relations and trade between the two nations remain modest. In 2006, France exported to Barbados mainly: electrical equipment, wood, paper, and cardboard products. Barbados also has trade with France's territories in the CaribbeanCaribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, such as Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. The Government of France supports 22 programmes in Barbados and ties including trade between Barbados and the French Departments
Overseas departments and territories of France
The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...
in the Americas has been steadily increasing. Attention in Barbados is currently being paid towards the creation of the "CARIFORUM French Caribbean Task Force" which will guide the way forward on regularised cooperation with the overseas areas of France.
In 2006 the former Prime Minister Owen Arthur
Owen Arthur
Owen Seymour Arthur, MP was the fifth Prime Minister of Barbados who was in office from 1994 to 2008 and is the current Leader of Opposition in Barbados. To date, he is the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister....
had announced that Barbados would begin to settle its maritime boundaries with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
due to Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
's overlapping maritime boundary
Maritime boundary
Maritime boundary is a conceptual means of division of the water surface of the planet into maritime areas that are defined through surrounding physical geography or by human geography. As such it usually includes areas of exclusive national rights over the mineral and biological resources,...
with Barbados. Preliminary discussions have started and are on-going to settle the maritime boundary between France and Barbados.
In 2007 the Dominican Republic and Caribbean Community bloc known as CARIFORUM began final negotiates for an Economic Partnership Agreement
Economic Partnership Agreement
An economic partnership agreement is an economic arrangement that eliminates barriers to the free movement of goods, services, and investment between countries. This agreement can be considered an intermediate step between free trade area and single market in the process of economic integration...
(EPA) between the Caribbean and European Union regions. During the negotiations an intense debate developed between Barbadian and French authorities over a provision that would allow certain classes of Caribbean nationals to be granted free movement within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in exchange for the removal of tariffs on European products such as automobiles and mobile phones to the Caribbean.
The Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur said the disagreement threatened to derail talks and stating to the media:
"The Caribbean could clearly not enter any new trade arrangement with anybody and accept a limitation on market access to our cultural workers, our artistes and our entertainers when we give people access to our markets.
[ . . . ]
"The heads have made a very clear decision that we could not conclude the agreement with Europe at all unless there is a removal on the restriction".
Talks proceeded shortly after and the agreement was agreed upon between the two regions on 16 December 2007.
As a followup of the Economic Partnership Agreement
Economic Partnership Agreement
An economic partnership agreement is an economic arrangement that eliminates barriers to the free movement of goods, services, and investment between countries. This agreement can be considered an intermediate step between free trade area and single market in the process of economic integration...
, in May 2009 the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(Schengen Area
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area comprises the territories of twenty-five European countries that have implemented the Schengen Agreement signed in the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, in 1985...
) signed a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
waiver agreement with Barbados and five other nations around the world allowing the citizens of the nations involved to travel visa free for up to three months to each others' territories. The visa-waiver agreement covers both Barbados and France however not the French territories
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
. The Barbados Government indicated though that negotiations would be on-going to reach an agreement with France to allow for visa-free travel to the French Territories and Outer Departments
Overseas departments and territories of France
The French Overseas Departments and Territories consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of the European continent. These territories have varying legal status and different levels of autonomy, although all have representation in the Parliament of France , and consequently the...
(French: départements d'outre-mer and territoires d'outre-mer) in future.
The Barbadian private sector organisation known as the Private Sector Trade Team (PSTT) has taken an increasingly active interest in encouraging Barbadians businesses to expand their trade with the territories of France under the same EPA agreement.
French citizens in Barbados held the second Bastille Day celebration in 2009. The celebration at Brandon's Beach, Saint Michael was sponsored by the French Honorary Consulate in Barbados, as well as the Mount Gay Rum company. During the event it was outlined that Alliance Française de Bridgetown was actively pursuing several initiatives with the Barbadian Ministry of Education concerning French culture.
In 2009 the Barbados Tourism Authority began placing large emphasis on developing air-links between the French West Indies and Barbados through the sponsorship of charter flights.
In September 2009 the French Frigate "The Ventôse", commanded by Captain Pascal Le Barbier docked in Bridgetown, Barbados following a joint anti-drug campaign by both nations. During the visit the Ambassador of France in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados, Mr. Michel Trinquier visited with French nationals living in Barbados.
In June 2010 French officials from Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
's Regional Council and Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of commerce
A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
visited Barbados for a three day dialogue on formal cultural exchanges and joint-collaboration between industries in the both countries.
In July 2011 the French Mayor Jose Toribio of Lamentin
Lamentin
See Le Lamentin for the commune of MartiniqueLamentin is a French commune in the overseas department of Guadeloupe. It is part of the agglomeration of Pointe-à-Pitre, in the north part of Basse-Terre...
, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, toured over a dozen primary schools in Barbados. He met with the Barbadian Minister of Education, Ronald Jones where both counterparts discussed several avenues of cooperation between Barbados and France including a student and teacher exchanges and cooperation in furthering an English–French immersion between Barbados and the French Departments. The leaders also spoke of a desire for a more regional approach to education.
External links
- The French Embassy in Trinidad-and-Tobago and Barbados
- French ministry of foreign affairs about relations with Barbados
- Barbadian ministry of foreign affairs about relations with Europe
- Barbados to work closer with France
- Barbados, France sign Maritime Boundary Delimitation Treaty, Saturday, October 17, 2009, Caribbean Net News