Minister of Foreign Affairs the Honourable Mark Brantley is currently in Barbados attending the OECS Third Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (COMFA), and the Twentieth Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) of the Caribbean Community.
Both meetings considered a wide range of foreign policy matters, including:
(i) the current international order characterized by the rise in nationalistic sentiments and the erosion of multilateralism, creating an environment of uncertainty;
(ii) the Future of the Caribbean’s relationship with the European Union in the post-Brexit, Post-Cotonou Agreement era,
(iii) the need to build strategic alliances to advance the interests of the Region leveraging relations with strategic partners,
(iv) Issues at the United Nations and the Organisation of American States (OAS), and
(v) The situation in Venezuela.
Moreover, the meetings underscored the need for the Small States of the Caribbean to closely monitor and evaluate global trends, fully utilizing overseas Embassies and Missions and technical expertise at Capitals to achieve desired outcomes.
Foreign Minister Brantley is accompanied by his Permanent Secretary, Miss Kaye Bass and Mr. Samuel Berridge, Senior Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
