Mr. President,
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, said this a few days ago: “Don't be demoralised by your income; be inspired by your outcome”.
That should be a driving principle, as all countries, particularly the Small Island Developing States, seek to determine what the post-2015 Development Agenda will be. The obstacles are many. The lip service is
evident. We have hope and our moral case is strong. We are inspired by the potential possible outcomes of this new development agenda.
We must be people focused and, in this connection, I remember a story told by one of our Colleague Ministers from the Far East who explained his absence from home as dealing with many of the world's
problems. Yes, said the constituent, but the water pump in the village has not been fixed. It is a reminder of who we really work for in this body: not we ourselves, but for that villager who needs the pump fixed at
home.
During this session, our Prime Minister gave a comprehensive statement on climate change and the need for developed countries to honour their financial commitments in that regard. Secondly, we deposited the
instrument for the Arms Trade Treaty, which helped to bring the number of countries to fifty (50) and so caused the Treaty to enter into force. Thirdly, in the margins of the meeting, we signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with the International Organization for Migration.
There are no higher priorities for The Bahamas: the environment, fighting crime and containing illegal immigration. These matters for The Bahamas go to the very root of our existence.
If we do not resolve the climate change issues, there will be no Bahamas. Solving the crime problem in The Bahamas is central to our domestic peace and economic survivability. No Bahamian doubts that the control of illegal immigration is central to our survivability as a country, central to our national identity, and central to our national security. We have only to see today how it drains our financial resources, and we do not have to look far to see how unchecked immigration in other countries has been a recipe for civil strife within their borders. We do not intend for that to happen to us.
All of the efforts around the three main themes are buttressed by our work to ensure that we have a robust, strong and sustainable economy.
