The Caribbean nation is currently joining efforts with other metaverse companies, such as Decentraland, to set up digital sovereign lands.
The Caribbean nation of Barbados is now getting ready to establish a new embassy in the metaverse. This event is a historic step towards the legitimation and adoption of the metaverse.
The Barbados Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade sealed an agreement on Sunday with Decentraland, one of the most relevant and popular digital worlds with crypto technology, to move forward to create a new digital embassy.
According to information brought by a press release, the government is already sealing agreements with platforms like Somnium Space, SuperWorld, and many other Metaverse platforms.
Virtual Embassies
The various projects would help identify and purchase land, design virtual embassies, and consulates, develop facilities to provide electronic visas, and build a teleporter that will allow users to transport their avatars between different worlds.
During an interview with CoinDesk, Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates H.E. Gabriel Abed, highlighted that the country plans to set an expansion beyond this initial effort to build structures and purchase digital land in the diversity that represents these virtual worlds.
The ambassador explained that the main goal is not to pick a winner, the metaverse is still very young and new, and they want to make sure that what they build is transferable across the meta world.
First Real Country in the Metaverse
Abed is currently leading the country’s diplomatic issues on the metaverse. He mentioned that the Barbados government sees the decision as a unique diplomatic opportunity to expand their terrain regarding technology. The cabinet approved the metaverse embassy in August of this year.
Along with the release of the embassy, which is scheduled for January, Barbados would become the first country to recognize digital sovereign land worldwide. The Foreign Ministry, the Science and Technology Ministry, and many other government agencies reviewed the plans for several months, according to Abed.
The country has also hired legal advice, as the embassy will establish a series of unique precedents. So far, experts have said that the embassy will comply with international law and the Vienna Convention.
Likewise, Barbados is among the most crypto-friendly nations worldwide and has been among those working to create a central bank digital currency. On the other hand, many other countries in the Caribbean, but further north, such as the Bahamas, have pioneered CBDC.
Also, as early as 2015, when few countries were taking action about crypto, the possibility arose that the Caribbean country possessed Bitcoin in its reserves. Abed also pointed out that embassies would be a launchpad for more ambitious economic plans in virtual worlds.
Abed finally put on the table why embassies are the starting point to acquire a Visa to enter and stay in the country or travel without a Visa.
By: Jenson Nuñez
