Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 3rd Edition

Pulse of the Caribbean 32

ongoing conversations and negotiations. “We must make the clear point that Barbados is not a tax haven. It is a low tax jurisdiction,” PM Mottley said. “We may be forced to become a truly single low tax jurisdiction with the convergence of the policy space that is taken away from us, but the bottom line is that we have developed a certain level of expertise in this area. Can we improve? Always,” she said. “And do we need to be more agile with respect to the range of products that we offer in this sector? Yes we do.” Other developmental barriers, like climate change, will require a greater focus on building resilience, and a willingness to leverage problems for potential economic gain. Aprime example, she noted, is the Sargassum seaweed, which, on one hand constitutes a natural disaster, but with the right interventions, could present significant economic benefits to the region. Harvesting it in small quantities to produce products such as fertiliser and biofuel has proven successful, but we must scale up PM Mottley said, figure out how we can harvest it in large quantities at sea, and make Sargassum work for, instead of against us. In referencing the Blue Economy, the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth and improved livelihoods, she stressed the importance of rekindling our relationship with the sea. “The Blue Economy presents us with tremendous opportunities for economic prosperity, yet, we have lost the ability to train shipwrights and riggers. You can’t live on an island and not have a relationship with the sea,” she shared.

The Mottley government has therefore established the Region’s first Ministry of Maritime Affairs and the Blue Economy, a move that was lauded by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and one that shows the administration’s commitment to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14, which seeks to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Among the great ideas, the innovative proposals, projects and policies the Mottley administration plans to table and implement, perhaps the greatest indication of insight and forward thinking is a new drive to ensure no child is left behind, a plan, that if executed successfully, will place the island’s children on a level playing field with others around the world. This plan comprises simple concepts, but PM Mottley believes they will give Barbadian children the ability to soar. “They must be given an opportunity to be bilingual. They must have sensitivities to life and other people by being exposed to sports and the arts. And then they must be entrepreneurial, because they must always be able to make something from nothing, to add value, and to recognize that wealth is not cash. Wealth is what we can transfer from generation to generation,” she said. Additionally, guided by global trends, PM Mottley and her team has decided to provide training in the educational system - pre-primary, ages 9 to 11, 14 to 16 and post- secondary - in coding and technology training. The project,

Sargassum seaweed

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