McClean: Explore options with Africa

BARBADOS has to look beyond the confines of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) and look for new avenues to conduct trade.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Maxine McClean said the relationship between Barbados and Europe was poised to change so the island had to look ahead.
“We often talk about the EPA but that is an arrangement which also addresses our relationship as [a member of] Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) with the EU [and] for us 2020 is a period when the relationship with Europe will change, so the question is how will we as developing countries within the ACP continue to engage each other in ways that can help develop our economies,” she said.
McClean was speaking to the Press yesterday after a service at St Barnabas Anglican Church to bless the biennial Barbados Network Consultation 2014 – the third diaspora conference, which runs from tomorrow to Thursday at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
She said this question was one which could be addressed at the conference where they could explore new business opportunities with Africa.
She said while Europe was ageing, Africa was a young market. (CA)