Barbados | Independence Day

Embassy Network | 4th April 2017

Prime Minister Stuart addressing guests within the majestic walls of Lancaster House

Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan and High Commissioner Hewitt toast 50 years of independence

High Commissioner Hewitt gives his Golden Jubilee message

Sir Garfield Sobers with Australian High Commissioner Alexander Downer

High Commissioner Hewitt and the Ambassador of Kuwait and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps

Sir Garfield Sobers greets the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps Alistair Harrison

Prime Minister Stuart and High Commissioner Hewitt talk to broadcaster Moira Stuart

High Commissioners from Mauritius, Namibia, Kenya, St Kitts and Nevis and Rwanda

Prime Minister Stuart and High Commissioner Hewitt greet the High Commissioner for Papua New Guinea Ms Winnie Kiap

Sir Garfield Sobers with Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Scotland

Prime Minister Stuart receives a shirt from Bajan Premiership footballer Emmerson Boyce

The national anthems played by the Barbados Defence Force Band and the Royal Barbados Force Band

Prime Minister Stuart and High Commissioner Hewitt welcome the High Commissioner for Sierra Leone Mr Edward Turay

Family photo with members of the Prime Minister’s Delegation and High Commission staff

Barbados at 50

Fifty years ago, a Bajan delegation gathered at Lancaster House to negotiate the Island’s independence, so it was appropriate, said High Commissioner Guy Hewitt, that the occasion of their Golden Jubilee was commemorated within the same majestic walls, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Barbados the Rt Hon Freundel Stuart, Foreign Minister Sir Alan Duncan and national hero and cricketing legend Sir Garfield Sobers.

In proposing a toast, Sir Alan Duncan spoke of the “enduring bond” between the two nations, from a shared language and legal system to common values and a shared head of state. He commended Barbados for its diversified economy and its enviable welfare system and thanked the Bajan diaspora for their contribution to British life.

In response Prime Minister Freunel pointed to the shared relationship through the Commonwealth. He noted that Britain was undergoing some foreign policy “adjustments” but said his country looked forward to deepening and expanding ties over the next half century.

PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS