Barbados Minister of Education Ronald Jones recently met with the Mayor of Lamentin, Guadeloupe to discuss ongoing programs of cultural cross-fertilisation between the two countries. Mayor Jose Toribio, who is also on the general council of Guadeloupe, which is a department of France, was visiting some 17 primary-school children from his city who were visiting in Bridgetown as part of their summer activities. Toribio said he wished to establish a stronger bond between his island and the rest of the Caribbean.

“There are agreements which exist with Mauritius and Dakar, but the most significant for us is the relationship which should exist between Gaudeloupe and the Caribbean … between St Lucia, Haiti, Santo Domingo,” he said. “We hope that we will have the opportunity to extend that cooperation.”

Toribio said he hoped the cooperation between the islands would transcend student exchanges — both to teacher training and educational methodology.

According to Jones, there is a history of people coming over both from Guadeloupe and Martinique to immerse themselves in English.

“We have quite a few [French Caribbean citizens] here and it is good for Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados to have that cross-fertilisation of cultures.”

–Barbados Information Service