Barbados Pleased With Its Diplomatic Presence in Africa

ALGIERS, Algeria – The commercial and cultural attaché at the Barbados High Commission in Ghana,  C. Phil Phillips, says while Africa might seem far away from the Caribbean, it presents opportunities that are worth exploring.

Commercial and cultural attaché at the Barbados High Commission in Ghana, C. Phil Phillips (CMC Photo)“I think that as the international traditional markets develop challenges from time to time that Africa is the go-to place,” Phillips told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) during the Fourth Intra-African Trade Fair (AITF2025), which wraps up here later on Wednesday.

“Yes, it’s unfamiliar. Yes, it seems to be far in terms of the distance, but it is worth exploring,” Phillips said, adding “we know that we may be a little hesitant to come forward, but I think as you start to see more and more quick wins, that you’re going to see more and more participation”.

Barbados is among the first set of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to set up a high commission in Ghana. Suriname also has an embassy in Accra and Jamaica has a high commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

Phillips said that where possible, Caribbean countries could work collectively in their diplomatic efforts in Africa.

“So, for instance, if a country is thinking of coming to establish a High Commission in Ghana, they may want to reach out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Barbados to see how we could partner.

“So I think that time will actually take care of what you may be perceiving as some gap in terms of that interaction between the Caribbean and West Africa.”

Barbados, The Bahamas and Grenada were the Caribbean countries with official representation at IATF2025.  Unlike the two other countries, Grenada did not have a booth.

“It’s been fascinating because many people who come to the booth have never heard of Barbados,” Phillips told CMC, adding “so the fact that the government of Barbados has an initiative here is an extremely important step forward in developing this relationship”.

He said the Barbadian team was able to engage people about the location of the country, access and its economy.

“They’re interested in tourism. So I think that we are actually starting to see the knowledge gap, the level of unawareness of each other, through this participation in the IATF, you are seeing that that has started to flatten,” he said, adding that there was still  “a long way to go again”.

The Barbadian diplomat, however, said he believes that with the journey having started, there will be great participation by Caribbean countries in 2027, when IATF is held in Lagos, Nigeria.

“One of the very important things as a CARICOM Community, if we’re looking at trade, what we have to do is to look at also scalability,” he said, adding that the more CARICOM countries that are trading with Africa, particularly west Africa, the more convincing the shipping logistics would be, regarding achieving faster shipping times and lower shipping rates.

“So it is a process. And of course, ultimately, we want to see that tourism is thriving between Barbados the Caribbean and, of course, Ghana, West Africa.”

Phillips said the Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley has urged her country to “reclaim the Atlantic destiny”, adding that the country sees the IATF as a very critical part of that mission.

“Of course, we need to engage the world. Africa, of course, as a continent, is a continent that’s growing. It has a median age that is extremely low, so there’s tremendous potential. So the only path for Africa is further development.”

Phillips told CMC that further development means more opportunities for countries to do business “with people who you’re familiar with”.

He said that Barbados was represented at the fair by Invest Barbados, the agency responsible for attracting investments to the island.

“We are small and tiny to some extent. But as Kofi Annan once said, we punch above our weight in that we have products that are very, very, very distinctive.”

The Barbados booth displayed drinks and biscuits manufactured in the country and Phillips acknowledged “we do not have our major export item here, which is the rum of Barbados…

“Of course, this is a Muslim country, so we respect the traditions here,” he said, adding that rum was invented in Barbados.

Phillips said that in the four years since Bridgetown opened its high commission in Accra  there have been progress on the governmental and people level.

“At the pure diplomacy level, we have been able to convene a number of MOUs. We have MOUs with trading partners such as the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority, we have with the Ghana Investment Promotion Center as well, and we have several other agreements.

“Outside of the hardcore diplomacy, we’re also pleased to have relations with the cultural community. We have a great relationship with Black Star Experience, which is the new agency that is promoting the creative economy,” Phillips said, adding that the High Commission also has a wonderful relationship with the Ministry of Sports in Ghana.

“And we’re about to do some very interesting things with the Ministry of Sports, so we’ll hear about that in a little while.

“But generally speaking, our engagement with Ghana and West Africa is not only at the traditional level of diplomacy, but we are focusing heavily on commercial and cultural diplomacy.”

Phillips said Barbadian products are now on supermarket shelves in Ghana.

“Particularly, or rum has been doing well in Accra. In terms of tourism, we are also seeing numbers rising in tourism,” adding that if direct flights are to occur between Ghana and the Caribbean, it is important to have that demand.

Phillips noted that Barbados is hosting the Grow, Unite, Build Africa (GUBA) Awards in November, which is a pan-African business and innovation award that rewards and celebrates excellence, shining a spotlight on trailblazers who tirelessly work towards the advancement of the African diaspora and its communities back home.

Phillips said it is a significant platform where people across Africa and its diaspora are able to engage in tourism, trade and investment.

“There is good news that there is a direct flight that is also being presented by the Guba awards,” he said, adding that people with visa challenges can travel via the charter flight.