Trade and investment, climate resilience and finance, security, education and closer people-to-people ties all feature prominently among his priorities. At the heart of this agenda is a determination to ensure that the priorities of Barbados – and the challenges facing small island states more broadly – remain firmly on the international agenda.

A former Home Affairs Minister, his new posting also brings considerable experience of negotiation to the diplomatic table. During his political career, Hinkson represented Barbados in the African, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union parliamentary assemblies, engaging with countries of widely differing interests on subjects ranging from trade and climate justice to finance, the Bridgetown Initiative, anti-money laundering and UN reform.  In a role that involved a lot of travel, he notes, “I’m used to negotiating and coming to common positions with people of diverse backgrounds and diverse national interests.”

There is, nevertheless, a personal connection with Britain. Hinkson first lived in London as a small child in the 1960s, when his father came to study law; his younger sister was born here. Returning in February 2026 with his wife Beverly, this time as his country’s senior representative in the UK, was something he admits he could scarcely have imagined as a boy.

London’s importance to his new role extends well beyond the bilateral relationship. Hinkson regards the capital as one of the world’s foremost financial and diplomatic centres, and alongside his responsibilities as High Commissioner he is accredited to international organisations headquartered here, including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the International Maritime Organisation and International Sugar Organisation.

Public service and a personal cause

Hinkson’s route to diplomacy began with the law. Called to the Barbados Bar in 1985, he later completed a Master’s in Business Law at the University of Ottawa before returning home and establishing his legal practice. But alongside his professional career ran a strong conviction that the opportunities afforded to him by Barbados carried an obligation to serve the country in return.

Having benefited from Barbados’ investment in free education and a scholarship that funded his legal training, he says that sense of national responsibility has remained with him throughout his career. “I feel I have a moral duty to give back to my country, to give back to the people who financed me educationally and helped me receive the qualifications I achieved.”

One cause became deeply personal. Hinkson’s younger sister was born deaf, prompting a lifelong commitment to advancing the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For some 35 years he has been involved in disability advocacy, a commitment that ultimately contributed to his decision to enter elective politics in 2013.

In 2022, during his third term in Parliament, Hinkson was appointed by the Cabinet of Barbados to establish a Commission to Advance the Lives of Persons with Disabilities. Its mandate included developing national policy and helping to craft disabilities legislation – an ambition realised when Barbados’ new legislation was proclaimed earlier this year. His work in the field continues even from London. As he puts it, achieving that legislative milestone did not mean the job was finished. His commitment continues today: he is preparing to host a fundraiser in Barbados to raise funds for an accessible bus for the Council for the Disabled.

An enduring relationship

As High Commissioner, strengthening the longstanding relationship between Barbados and the UK is naturally at the centre of Hinkson’s mandate. The countries share centuries of history, and since Barbados achieved independence in 1966, their relationship has evolved into a modern partnership encompassing diplomacy, commerce, security, education and extensive people-to-people ties.

Hinkson invokes the celebrated words of Barbados’ first Prime Minister, The Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow – “friends of all and satellites of none” – to describe the independent foreign policy that Barbados has pursued since independence. At the same time, he is emphatic about the continuing importance of Britain. “Our relationship with our former colonial ruler is still one that we treasure tremendously.”

High Commissioner Hinkson readily acknowledges that his diplomatic role is enhanced by the formidable international standing of Barbados’ Prime Minister, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, S.C., M.P. Her reputation as a respected and influential global leader opens doors at the highest levels, facilitating valuable connections and creating opportunities for Barbados that might otherwise be more difficult to secure.

Trade and investment are high on his agenda. Barbados, he stresses, is an open economy actively seeking responsible foreign investment. Financial services remain a priority, but he identifies a much broader range of opportunities for British investors, including information technology, renewable energy and climate-smart investment, construction, tourism including medical tourism, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, agro-processing, information technology, fintech and the growing film and creative industries.

Tourism remains central to the economy and the British market continues to play an important role. British visitors tend to stay longer and spend strongly, while UK and Irish buyers are also significant participants in Barbados’ property market. Hinkson believes there is considerable scope to develop these economic ties further and has plans to travel all over the UK to make the case for investment in Barbados.

His message to international business is straightforward: Barbados offers political stability, respect for the rule of law, an established judiciary and a strong commitment to multilateralism. “We are open for business and invite entrepreneurs, businesspeople and investors to come in and join us.”

The climate finance challenge

Yet perhaps the most pressing international issue raised by the High Commissioner is the vulnerability of small island states to climate change – and the difficulty countries such as Barbados can face in accessing affordable finance.

Traditional economic measurements, he argues, do not adequately capture the risks confronting a small island economy exposed to increasingly severe weather events. Barbados’ relatively strong per-capita income and extensive social provision can create an impression among developed countries and international institutions that it has less need for concessional finance.

The physical reality is very different. A single major hurricane can inflict damage representing an extraordinary proportion of national GDP and devastate livelihoods within hours. Hinkson points to the destruction caused across the Caribbean by recent hurricanes, including the severe impact of 2024’s Hurricane Beryl on Barbados’ fishing industry.

For Barbados, the objective is therefore not simply to secure finance after a catastrophe, but to gain access to affordable funding beforehand – enabling the country to strengthen coastlines, improve housing and infrastructure, and build resilience before the next natural disaster strikes. “We need accessible finance to build climate resilience before possible natural disasters come along.”

Insurance is becoming part of the same challenge. Rising premiums risk leaving individuals, businesses and ultimately governments increasingly exposed when disasters occur. Hinkson therefore regards reform of international approaches to climate and development finance as a diplomatic priority.

The wider historical relationship between the Caribbean and Britain also brings more difficult questions. Alongside cooperation on climate resilience and finance, the High Commissioner believes discussions about reparatory justice and the continuing consequences of the colonial era must form part of a mature contemporary relationship. “This issue cannot be left hidden under the table anymore,” he says. “This is of importance to my country, and to the whole of the CARICOM region.”