As the world moves more confidently to embrace artificial intelligence, Barbados must strengthen its digital skills to seize the opportunities the digital economy presents for small island developing states, Minister of Training and Tertiary Education Sandra Husbands has said.

Addressing the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) Business Forum on Friday, Husbands said digital competence had become as fundamental as literacy and numeracy and should begin from an early age, stressing that stronger digital skills were essential to improve productivity, create global opportunities and accelerate economic growth.

She declared that the digital economy could help overcome many of the disadvantages faced by small island developing states, including limited land, natural resources and population size: