Germany and Barbados enjoy friendly political relations. Barbados is a close and reliable partner of Germany in multilateral bodies such as the United Nations and in international negotiations on climate change. At the early elections held on 19 January 2022, the governing Barbados Labour Party led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley again won all 30 parliamentary seats.

Bilateral economic relations with Barbados have not yet developed to any great degree. The country obtains significant revenue from visits by German tourists who prior to the pandemic totalled nearly 10,000 per year.

A bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement has been in place since 2002. Weak economic growth and high budgetary deficits, along with public debt of 157%, are a burden on the economy.

Other cooperation and trade accords exist within the framework of the agreements between the European Union and the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) states as well as between the EU and CARIFORUM (CARICOM member states plus the Dominican Republic). As the Caribbean country with the closest economic ties to Europe, Barbados is paying special attention to the further development of trade relations with the EU against the background of the upcoming signing of the EU’s new partnership agreement with the states of Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean (Post-Cotonou Agreement).

In development cooperation, Barbados has indirect links with Germany through German agreements with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where cooperation focuses on sustainable economic development, the promotion of renewable energy and adaptation to climate change. German institutions such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and the International Centre for Migration and Development (CIM) work together with the following Barbados-based organisations: the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ), the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) and the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE).