CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is for me always a special pleasure and honour to accept the Credentials of a Plenipotentiary Representative of a Member State to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and I warmly welcome you and your delegation to the Headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat.
The Bahamas is a valued Member of our Community, and the fact that yours was one of the first diplomatic appointments made by the recently-elected Government of The Bahamas is testimony to the importance that your country attaches to its membership of CARICOM.
High Commissioner, Let me, at the outset, express my sympathy to the Government and People of The Bahamas at the loss of life and destruction of property, experienced as a consequence of the recent passage of Hurricane Sandy. I am certain that the proactive measures taken by your Government to address the recovery effort, and the strength and resilience of the Bahamian people will help them to persevere at this trying time.
The Bahamas – like other CARICOM States – is confronting serious challenges as it pursues its national development aspirations. Included among these is climate change and related phenomena which continue to threaten the country’s unique eco-system and infrastructural investments. This was most recently borne out by the experience of Hurricane Sandy which served to highlight the vulnerability of our Region.
The Bahamas is aggressively pursuing the development of its energy, agriculture and tourism industries, which are also key areas for other CARICOM States and which benefit from regional initiatives. At the same time, it is ensuring that job creation, youth empowerment and advances in the country’s education, sport and creative industries are at the centre of a new era of prosperity.
The Bahamas is an active participant in regional programmes and projects in the areas of human and social development, climate change, foreign policy, security, as well as trade and economic development.
Similarly, The Bahamas has added its voice to those of its fellow CARICOM Member States in seeking to have the Region’s interests represented and defended in the global arena – whether by advocating for reconsideration of the discriminatory Air Passenger Duty (APD) applied by the British Government which impacts our competitiveness in tourism; or whether by ensuring global attention, through the United Nations, to the scourge of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases which not only undermine the health of its people, but take a toll on the country’s social and economic development; or by advocating for reform of international financial institutions like the World Bank and the IMF and to address the peculiar characteristics of small, vulnerable and highly-indebted middle-income countries such as ours.
The Bahamas also facilitates the Region’s engagement with international development partners, bilaterally and multilaterally. In this regard, I must single out your country’s hosting of the Second US-Caribbean High-Level Security Cooperation Dialogue in November 2011.
The Bahamas participates in regional trade agreements, such as the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement. High Commissioner, you would no doubt be aware that the EPA provides for ‘regional preference’ which seeks to promote free trade among CARIFORUM Members. The Secretariat looks forward to engaging with The Bahamas in that regard.
As is evident from the foregoing, the collective membership of CARICOM shares similar aspirations and challenges. These are both being addressed at the regional level to reinforce and give greater impetus to the initiatives of Member States. The strength of our Community truly does lie in the sum of its parts and, it is for this reason, that the contribution of each Member State, including that of The Bahamas, is so critical and so deeply valued.
Your accreditation comes therefore at a crucial period in the life of the Community, when we have embarked on a process of strengthening our Community through Reform and Change. Two key elements of this will be the development of a Community Strategic Plan and a restructured Secretariat. As I seek to drive this process forward, I shall be counting on you and your colleague CARICOM Ambassadors to give input and to facilitate the requisite consultations which must take place at the national level, to ensure that this process reflects the priorities of Member States and the aspirations of our people. Ambassador, given your vast experience and expertise in the area of communication, you are particularly well placed to make a contribution as we seek to involve the people of our Community in this transformation exercise on which we have embarked.
High Commissioner, you also have a role to play as your Prime Minister discharges his responsibility as lead Head for Tourism within the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet.
It is against this background, High Commissioner, that I receive your credentials with great pleasure. As a UWI alumnus, you have experienced first hand one of the fruits of the labour of integration. I congratulate you on your assumption of the important responsibility of Plenipotentiary Representative of The Bahamas to CARICOM and wish you good stead for the duration of your tenure. I pledge to you, on behalf of the CARICOM Secretariat, strong support; and extend to you a very warm welcome.
