On behalf of the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Barbados on the 53rd anniversary of your independence tomorrow.

The United States is proud of our strong history as neighbors and partners. Our collaboration on key challenges such as border security, law enforcement, Zika prevention, and emergency preparedness continues to strengthen our bilateral relationship. Barbados demonstrated regional leadership by hosting the U.S. Caribbean Resilience Partnership, and we are pleased to continue to work together to create a safer, more secure hemisphere through our U.S.-Caribbean 2020 strategy.

I again wish the citizens of Barbados a happy Independence Day.