As the Caribbean nation works to draw fresh foreign capital and strengthen cross-border economic ties, Barbados is actively advancing negotiations for new double taxation agreements (DTAs) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with a range of non-conventional trading partners, including an unnamed European country that has already held informal talks with Barbadian authorities, a top government official confirmed this Wednesday.
Speaking to journalists at the official media launch of Global Business Week, hosted at CIBC Great House in Warrens, Kevin Hunte, Permanent Secretary of Barbados’ Ministry of Business, outlined that ongoing discussions are focused on securing both a DTA and BIT with the undisclosed European partner. Hunte emphasized that the government’s push to expand the country’s existing network of international tax and investment treaties has not slowed amid shifting global economic conditions, noting that Barbados has worked for years to open formal negotiations with this particular European nation.
A cross-government working group, comprising the Ministry of Business, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Cabinet, currently conducts reviews to prioritize target jurisdictions for new agreements. Hunte added that in the current global tax landscape, bilateral investment treaties have gained greater urgency than traditional double taxation agreements, driven by widespread international restructuring of global tax frameworks.
Sangene Watkins-Diagne, Director of the International Business Unit within the Ministry of Business, echoed Hunte’s comments, confirming that the government’s strategy centers on expanding the treaty network beyond Barbados’ long-standing core trading partners. The initiative is being developed in close collaboration with Pascal Saint-Amans, a senior tax policy expert serving as consultant to the Prime Minister.
“Barbados already has comprehensive treaties in place with all of its major trading partners, so at this stage our focus is on branching out into less traditional jurisdictions,” Watkins-Diagne explained. She also provided an update on a recent diplomatic and economic win, noting that Barbados had successfully secured its removal from Spain’s controversial tax blacklist. Watkins-Diagne called the island’s previous inclusion on the list “very unfortunate,” crediting coordinated work between the Ministry of Business, Spain’s Honorary Consul in Barbados, and the Barbados Revenue Authority for engaging Spanish regulators and reversing the designation.
While the government has already compiled a formal list of priority countries for new treaty negotiations, Watkins-Diagne noted that progress depends entirely on the willingness of partner nations to enter into formal talks with Barbados. “We do have a list of priority countries, but we need to hold preliminary discussions to confirm whether a country is willing to negotiate a double taxation agreement with us, so those conversations are still ongoing across multiple jurisdictions,” she said.
She confirmed that the European country referenced by Hunte has only been part of unofficial exploratory talks to date, with no formal negotiations launched yet, so the nation’s name will remain undisclosed for the time being. Watkins-Diagne argued that securing a DTA and BIT with this European partner would likely open the door for similar agreements with other non-traditional jurisdictions, creating a domino effect for future expansion.
In an open appeal to the international business community, Watkins-Diagne called on investors and cross-border service providers to share feedback on which new treaties would deliver the greatest benefit to their operations and clients. “We continue to work actively in expanding our treaty network. If any investors or service providers have ideas, or have heard their clients say that their work would be transformed if Barbados had a treaty with a specific country, we want to hear that input,” she stated.
The announcement came during the media launch for the 2026 Global Business Week Conference, which is scheduled to take place October 22–23 at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle Resort. This year’s conference will center on the theme “Resilience: Adapting, Transforming, Thriving,” bringing together global business leaders to discuss economic adaptation and growth in an evolving global tax and investment landscape.