Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, first member of a French government to visit Barbados

This is a diplomatic first for France. Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships, was received on Tuesday in Barbados, a small Caribbean island that recently became a republic and which until now had never had a visit from a representative of this level sent by Paris.

“Barbados is an incredible island, yet it had never hosted a French minister before,” said Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, after speaking with the island’s Prime Minister, Mia Mottley.

Another first visit to Saint Lucia

The French official went to Barbados to prepare with Mia Mottley, a voice listened to on the subject of the fight against climate change, the summit for a new financial pact with the countries of the South, wanted by Emmanuel Macron and which will be organized in Paris in June 2023.

Barbados, an island which separated from the British Crown in 2021, is the third stage of a tour by Chrysoula Zacharopoulou in Latin America and the Caribbean, on the theme in particular of ecological transition. The Secretary of State was received in Colombia and Costa Rica and is due to go to the island of Saint Lucia on Wednesday. This will also be the first French ministerial visit since the independence of this country in 1979.

These four countries were chosen in particular because France considers them to be important players in environmental transition. Barbados and Saint Lucia are also seen as neighbors of France because of their proximity to the departments of Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana.

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