Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley celebrated a landslide victory in the Caribbean nation’s first general election since it became a republic last year by removing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as sovereign head of state.

Mottley was criticised for calling a snap general election shortly after Barbados cut ties with Queen Elizabeth II in November and ceased to be a constitutional monarchy. The next elections had been scheduled for mid-2023.

Mottley’s Barbados Labor Party seemed to have secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, the lower house of the island’s Parliament, giving the island’s first female leader a second term as Prime Minister. 

Barbados

• Barbados — which has a population of just under 300,000 — was claimed by the British in 1625. It has sometimes been called “Little England” for its loyalty to British customs.

• The birth of the republic, 55 years to the day since Barbados declared independence, unclasps almost all the colonial bonds that have kept the tiny island tied to England since an English ship claimed it for King James I in 1625.

• The former British colony gained independence in 1966.

• On November 30, 2021, Barbados became a republic by removing Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as sovereign head of state. 

• Tourism is the main foreign exchange earner, with agriculture, oil and the financial services sector contributing to the island’s economy.

• The official currency is the Barbados dollar.

• The Caribbean’s easternmost island is also well-known as the birthplace of superstar singer Rihanna.

• Barbadian cricketers are household names among Indian sport lovers. Sir Vivian Richards, Garry Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and Wes Hall are some of the famous cricketers from Barbados in the West Indies cricket team.

India-Barbados relations

• Indian PM Narendra Modi congratulated Mottley for her re-election as Prime Minister. 

• India and Barbados enjoy close and cordial relations and interact actively in the UN, Commonwealth and NAM and other international fora. 

• The first ever Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Barbados was held in Bridgetown, Barbados from April 28 – May 1, 2015.

• India and Barbados have signed the Air Services Agreement on October 6, 2015, for facilitation of travel arrangements for the citizens and the possibility of direct air connectivity and chartered flight operations between the two countries.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store