Barbados says it is interested in Guyana’s insemination programme for Black Belly Sheep and in acquiring land here for farming under the Guyana/Barbados Joint Commission, which met recently in Georgetown.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) also said Guyanese who travel frequently to that country may benefit too as Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation, Dr Henry Jeffrey, said an agreement was made to set up safe communications channels so that information can quickly come to Guyana about problems as they happen so that a response can be made. Some of the broader areas discussed at the meeting were education, tourism, air transport, port security, investment, trade, fisheries and maritime affairs.

As regard agriculture, Jeffrey said the Barbadian delegation’s request was similar to an agreement that Guyana has with Trinidad. A team from Trinidad is expected here next week “to look at land available for agricultural purposes.”

The Guyana/Barbados Joint Cooperation agreement is a general framework agreement that allows for cooperation across the board. It was signed in 2002 by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

It is expected that the key players in the identified areas would work out the specifics about how they will implement the inter-sector cooperation. “Our department of co-operation will be in contact with people from the different departments and agencies to press the process forward,” Jeffrey said.