Barbados brings diplomatic embassy to Decentraland

The first step towards Metaverse has been taken: the Barbadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade has Coindesk signed an agreement with Decentraland to set up a digital embassy.

Decentraland is based on Ethereum blockchain technology and offers a kind of second life on its platform. Mana-Coins are traded. The provider itself has now confirmed the deal with Barbados via Twitter; Coindesk claims its information is obtained from a press release communicated directly by the responsible authorities.

Further negotiations with “Somnium Space, SuperWorld and other Metaverse platforms” are still pending. With the opening of its Metaverse embassy, ​​Barbados would be the first country in the world to recognize a digital, sovereign country.

Before the final decision was made, the project was therefore examined by various government agencies and ministries for months. It must also have been about the legal basis. According to experts, the embassy is compatible with international law and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to Coinbase. The concrete implementation from January 2022 will also be accompanied by a legal advisor, after all, Barbados is likely to repeatedly set legal precedents through its Metaverse projects.

The digital embassy of the Caribbean island state is scheduled to go into operation as early as January 2022. Various projects are planned, such as support in finding and buying land and the architectural development of further virtual embassies and consulates. In addition, facilities for the provision of services such as “e-visas” or the transport of avatars between the different worlds are to be developed.

The Barbadian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Gabriel Abed, spoke to Coindesk about the further intentions: Barbados wants to expand aggressively in order to build structures and acquire digital land in a multitude of virtual worlds.

There is no favorite among the Metaverse providers, the projects should be designed as universally as possible: “The Metaverse is still very young and new, and we want to ensure that what we are building can be transferred to all metaworlds.”

The Barbadian authorities are not the only ones who want to promote themselves to the Metaverse. In Seoul, South Korea, there are plans to bring the city government to a digital level. This decision was announced at the beginning of November, but Seoul does not rely on external platform operators, but instead wants to develop its own metaverse.

The first version of the 3.9 billion won platform should be available in 2022; in 2026, for example, a virtual mayor’s office, cultural experiences, rooms for the corporate sector and a fintech incubator should be fully functional. How exactly the citizens should use the city’s own Metaverse is not yet known.