Prime Minister, dear Mia,
Thank you for your hospitality here in Barbados. It is my first visit and it is wonderful. It is a great pleasure to participate in this CARICOM Summit. Europe highly values its partnership with the Caribbean. In this unpredictable world, it is more important than ever to stand together for our values and strengthen ties with friends.
Despite the distance, Europe and the Caribbean are closely connected. We share values such as democracy and the rule of law and support Ukraine in their fight for freedom. We aim for peace, not only in Ukraine but also in areas like the Middle East, Sudan, and Haiti.
We share challenges like climate change. Europe provides emergency aid during hurricanes and helps with rebuilding, such as in Grenada. We are collaborating on resilience and preparedness for natural disasters.
Climate change is an existential battle. The Caribbean, especially you, Mia, show leadership. Together, we launched the Loss and Damage Fund at COP29. Europe is a major financier and is working on new financing tools like green bonds.
We aim to increase renewable energy and energy efficiency. Barbados is now part of the Global Energy Transition Forum, which helps us realize concrete projects.
Our Global Gateway program invests in partnerships, such as the green hydrogen project with Hydrogen de France in Barbados. Renewable energy provides independence and security.
We are also working on health by supporting pharmaceutical sovereignty. With BioMedX, we signed a partnership and are launching PharmaNext for innovation and investments.
In the Caribbean, we are working on projects like turning sargassum into useful products. This can attract major investments. We are promoting digital connectivity with satellite internet, even in remote areas.
The Global Gateway initiative is needed more than ever. We invest in value chains, skills, and jobs. We share knowledge and technology for mutual benefit and a long-term partnership.
Thank you very much for having me here.