NHK

Japan offers Barbados assistance to deal with climate change

Japan's foreign minister has told his counterpart in the Caribbean island nation Barbados that Japan will continue to offer necessary support in the fields of environment, climate change and disaster mitigation.

Hayashi Yoshimasa held talks with Kerrie Symmonds in Barbados on Tuesday in his second leg of a five-nation tour of Latin America and the Caribbean. He is the first Japanese foreign minister to travel to the country.

Hayashi told Symmonds that Japan has been providing Caribbean nations with specifically-designed assistance to meet their individual needs.

He noted Tokyo is helping Barbados to remove seaweed that is negatively affecting the country's tourism and fisheries.

Hayashi praised Barbados for leading discussions on development funds for developing countries vulnerable to climate change. The two ministers confirmed the importance of transparent and fair financing. 

Hayashi and Symmonds also exchanged views on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. They agreed that any unilateral change to the status quo by force is unacceptable anywhere in the world.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230503_12/