Barbados - USA Relations
In 1751, George Washington visited Barbados as a young man, making what is believed to have been his only trip abroad. He was only in his twentieth year when he and his brother Lawrence came to Barbados for the benefit of the latter's health. They were very well received by the landed proprietors, themselves belonging to that class, and many were the dinners and entertainments that George attended, and afterwards admiringly wrote of in his diary. Many, that is, in the short time at his disposal; for after he had been two weeks ashore — the voyage having consumed five weeks — he was taken down with the smallpox, the marks from which he carried all his life in that face which has become so familiar to all Americans.
The U.S. Government has been represented on Barbados since 1823. The United States maintained a consular presence in Barbados beginning June 11, 1823, when Barbados was still a British colony. From 1956 to 1978, the United States operated a naval facility in Barbados.
Following widespread Caribbean decolonization throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the United States has used Bridgetown as a base for diplomatic relations with Barbados and the region. Following a June 1966 constitutional conference with Great Britain at which Barbados negotiated its independence, Barbados because an independent state within the British Commonwealth on November 30, 1966. The United States recognized Barbados’ independence that same day when it opened the American Embassy in Bridgetown.
The United States and Barbados have had friendly bilateral relations since Barbados' independence in 1966. The United States has supported the government's efforts to expand the country's economic base and to provide a higher standard of living for its citizens. Barbados is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. US assistance is channeled primarily through multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank, as well as the US Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Bridgetown.
In the early 1980s, the Adams government's diplomatic pressure on Bishop's Grenada, its participation in the 1983 interventiOn, and its advocacy of a Regional Defence Force were judged by a number of observers to represent a tilt from a nonaligned policy direction to one favoring United States security interests. It was clear that Adams's advocacy of enhanced security mechanisms, which came to be known as the "Adams Doctrine," dovetailed with the main thrust of Reagan administration policy in the Caribbean Basin. However, the Adams Doctrine probably was motivated more by the then-prime minister's interpretation of previous events, e.g., the 1979 Grenadian and Nicaraguan revolutions, than by United States, i.e., Reagan administration, pressure.
Barbadian relations with the United States have always been influenced by economic factors, especially trade and tourism. The Barrow government, in a foreign policy statement issued in 1987, recognized the importance of these relations and acknowledged the contribution of the United States Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps to projects in the fields of health education, housing, and agriculture. At the same time, Barrow chided both Caribbean and United States policymakers for perpetuating excessive reliance by Caribbean countries on the United States. He expressed a preference for greater "multilateralism" in this regard, apparently a reference to the need for increased coordination of aid programs among the United States, Canada, and the European Economic Community (EEC). Consistent with his earlier positions, Barrow also argued for greater Caribbean self-reliance and improved intraregional cooperation as a hedge against dependency.
In May 1997, Prime Minister Owen Arthur hosted President Bill Clinton and 14 other Caribbean leaders during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional cooperation on justice and counter narcotics issues, finance and development, and trade.
Barbados receives counternarcotics assistance and is eligible to benefit from the U.S. military's exercise-related and humanitarian assistance construction program.
Barbados and U.S. authorities cooperate closely in the fight against narcotics trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. In 1996, the United States and Barbados signed a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) and an updated extradition treaty covering all common offenses, including conspiracy and organized crime. A maritime law enforcement agreement was signed in 1997. A popular tourist destination, Barbados had around 570,000 tourists in 2006, mainly cruise ship visitors. The majority of tourists are from the U.K., Germany, the Caribbean, and the United States. An estimated 3,000 Americans reside in the country.
The United States Government through the Embassy of the United States for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean supports and promotes health across the region by contributing to the improvement of the health systems of each country and strengthening the capacity of regional institutions. By leveraging resources allocated for HIV/AIDS through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States is able to contribute to improved health outcomes across the region.
The United States and the nations of the Eastern Caribbean are partnering to combat the drug trade and other transnational crime that threatens regional security. This shared security partnership fulfills a commitment to deepen regional security cooperation that President Barack Obama made at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, held in Port of Spain, Trinidad in April 2009. All U.S. international security assistance is carefully coordinated to ensure that policy objectives support U.S. foreign policy goals of promoting democracy and protecting human rights.
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