SPAIN IS PLANNING a commercial mission to Barbados early in the new year to explore business opportunities.
Spain’s Ambassador to Barbados and the Southern Caribbean, Joaquin de Aristegui, made the announcement yesterday, when both countries signed a double taxation agreement.
He said that the mission, comprising business people and representatives of public institutions, would visit Barbados and some regional neighbours.
The aims of the mission planned for “the coming months” are “to know the market, to know the partners and to realise the important opportunities that are present”, he explained.
The Trinidad-based diplomat said one of Spain’s “top priorities” was to increase the areas of cooperation in trade with Barbados.
Tourism, financial services, agro-industry and textiles were among the sectors he listed as having potential for throwing up Barbados/ Spain deals.
He made the comments in the conference room of the Grantley Adams International Airport, where he and Minister of International Business and International Transport George Hutson signed the double taxation agreement.
Hutson said Barbados was hoping that an air services agreement and other pacts with Spain would follow the taxation convention.
He noted Spain’s “extensive air links and investments” into Latin America and said there was significant scope for including Barbados in a process to encourage trade, business and tourism between the two countries.
“Barbados could serve as a major hub to support travel throughout the Caribbean and Latin American countries,” he remarked.
Hutson pointed out that the treaty, essentially, would stop businesses in both countries from being taxed twice and also prevent “fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income”.
“Not only will this convention encourage foreign direct investment between our two countries, but we envision that Barbados could play an active role in enhancing the competitiveness of Spanish enterprises in their global expansion efforts, particularly in CARICOM and Latin American markets,” he said.
“We are therefore looking forward to Spanish investors taking up the opportunity to invest in Barbados now that there is a framework which will provide certainty with respect to the tax treatment of such investments.” (TY)
