(Barbados Nation) France’s president Nicholas Sarkozy has named Barbados among 11 so-called tax havens which he says will be shunned by the international community. But a Government minister has stoutly defended this island’s reputation.

“I would want to stress that Barbados is a low-tax jurisdiction; we are not a tax haven,” Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Maxine McClean insisted, as she disclosed that Sarkozy’s country was among several nations with which Barbados was negotiating tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs).

She was responding to comments made by the French leader at the close of the G20 meeting just over a week ago, as he indicated he was losing patience with countries that failed to meet transparency standards.

In addition to Barbados, he made specific mention of Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua, Botswana, Brunei, Panama, Seychelles, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.