Russia, Barbados Discuss Development Of Bilateral and CARICOM Relations

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held discussions with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, on Friday (April 4), and discussed the possibilities of developing bilateral political dialogue, trade and economic ties. Barbados is the current chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a trade bloc that also includes Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

They also discussions the situation in Haiti, and the upcoming consideration of this issue by the UN Security Council. Gang violence and a huge amount of smuggled weapons (some reportedly supplied from Ukraine) have decimated the islands security and threatens to spill over into other CARICOM members.

Russia has been reaching out to CARICOM and developing relations. These small island nations have long colonial ties, mainly with the United Kingdom, however as British power and influence wanes, they are looking to establish new relationships. The largest regional influences are with nearby Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, all of whom Russia already has long-standing relations, development and investment ties. It makes sense for these to be developed and expanded into the Caribbean.

To do this, Russia has extended visa-on-arrival status to several CARICOM member states, including Barbados. Russian tourists, effectively banned from European resorts, are now making their way to the Caribbean.

The CARICOM bloc itself has a population of about 240 million and a GDP (PPP) of US$160 billion. GDP (PPP) per capita is also relatively high at about US$20,000. Barbados itself has a population of 281,000, and a GDP (PPP) of US$5.4 billion. 2025 GDP growth is expected to be 3.9%.