Senator The Honourable Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Dr. Philomena Mohini- Harris, Honorary Consul of India in Barbados, in the audience at the Annual reception of the Consular Core of Barbados, at Southern Palms Hotel.
Selwyn Smith, Honorary Consul of The Bahamas in Barbados speaking at the Annual Reception of the Consular Core of Barbados, at Southern Palms Hotel.
Consular Corps of Barbados important to strengthen foreign relationships
Selwyn Smith, Honorary Consul of The Bahamas in Barbados, stressed the importance of the work of the Honorary Consul to Barbados and strengthening its foreign relationships.
He was speaking at the Annual reception of the Consular Corps of Barbados at Southern Palms Hotel. According to him, “The consulate core was established 23 years ago, today there are now 25 countries which have Honorary Consuls in Barbados with the longest serving being Hallam Edwards, Honorary Consul for Ecuador and Bernard Gilbert, Honorary Consul General for Israel, who were appointed back in 1983. These lifelong commitments show their dedication, although a lot of people still don’t know what Honorary Consuls do and believe it is merely a title and they misconstrue what ‘honorary’ means.”
However, the Honorary Consuls continue to give of their best and to strengthen relations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Barbados. We also seek to strengthen the core and develop stronger relations with the diplomatic core and the wider nation. Our networking sessions on the last Wednesday of the month also make a difference and allow us to meet informally and share information.”
He added, “We are extremely indebted to the Senator the Honourable Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who have given us the support we need to be effective and we look forward to your continued facilitation and support.”
Senator Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the guest of honour briefly indicated,” we should remember the very important role that the diplomatic core plays in relation to Barbados and our relations with other countries. I want to reiterate my appreciation and also on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign trade for your contribution in fostering good relationships with other countries, but also to say thank you for you continued work and we look forward to 2018.” (NB)