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Remarks by the Hon. Fred Mitchell MP
Minister responsible for Foreign Trade
China Shop and Shipping Conference
Tuesday 12th
September 2006
Crystal Palace
I want to thank you
for honouring me with this invitation this morning. I want to congratulate you for organizing this forum and to
underscore the commitment of Government of The Bahamas and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to promoting trade for Bahamians around the world and
in all countries. This
appears to be a definite step in that direction. I
congratulate Jackson Ritchie and his team.
I think it bears repeating that I see the role of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs that is since the 20th February 2006 responsible for
foreign trade as facilitating the passage of Bahamians around the world
in as seamless a fashion as possible and to facilitate their trade
around the world in as seamless and inexpensive, cost effective manner
as possible.
This is propitious
especially since I have only recently returned from talks on trade
matters with CARICOM Ministers including a possible trade agreement with
the U.S. and the European Union. We
have important decisions to make in this area. I
will be preparing for Cabinet the creation of a Department of Foreign
Trade to prepare our country for the future.
You will all know
the history of relations between The Bahamas and China. We have had diplomatic relations since 1997 when the then
Minister of Foreign Affairs Janet Bostwick signed the articles
establishing relations between the two countries.
There was no talk then of any ideological tint to the decision.
It was simply the right thing to do.
You will also recall that a decision was also made by my
predecessor to allow a resident Consul General for Cuba in The Bahamas.
Again this was the right thing to do and there was no ideological
tint cast upon it. The government must act always in the best interests of the
Bahamian people, men and women like those of you who are gathered here
today.
Cuba is a neighbour
and we must have good relations with them.
Some 6000 tourists visited Cuba last year from The Bahamas.
That is trade, not ideology.
Similarly, you will
find that since diplomatic relations were agreed between the China and
The Bahamas there has been an exponential explosion of trade between
China and The Bahamas. One
estimate put the trade at 150 million US dollars for last year.
What this means is that Bahamian businessmen and women are voting
with their feet and seeking to find goods and services in markets that
are not traditional for The Bahamas and getting thereby better prices
and making good profits and investing those profits in The Bahamas.
We are also taking
advantage of the fact that we have a container port in Freeport that has
direct links around the world including China that allows goods to be
shipped here to The Bahamas without going through any other foreign
port. Good diplomatic relations with China has been good for
businesses in The Bahamas.
I start from that
point of view because there appears always to be some who are of the
view that what is patently obvious on the face of a policy decision is
not so obvious. We have
this year alone witnessed in our media sources the most incredible raft
of nonsense masquerading as fact on matters that touch and concern the
foreign policy of the country, despite the fact that the information is
there for all to see. Where Bahamians are interested in trade and their Government
seeks to protect their interests, some people see ideology.
Where a government acts in accordance with law to honour its
international and domestic legal obligations, obligations to the law
abiding citizens of The Bahamas, some people see ideology. The
public at large and businessmen should not be intimidated by the steady
raft of disinformation that appears weekly and daily in newspapers about
public policy on this issue. They
should pursue their best interest.
This is about trade not ideology.
The on-going
concern of the Government, in the continuous process of the economic
development of The Bahamas, is to foster an increase in both trade and
investment, so as to continue to provide the highest possible standard
of living for all Bahamians, at the lowest possible cost.
Trade is the
natural precursor of investment; it builds a platform of trust,
confidence and familiarity upon which investment can take place.
It is therefore important that efforts be made to improve trade
between our two countries as a first step in encouraging sustained
investments between China and The Bahamas.
The Head of the
Bahamas Embassy in Beijing has informed me that many Chinese companies
have approached the Embassy in recent months, enquiring about the
potential for trade.
Chinese businessmen
are interested in trading in a very wide range of products inclusive of
pharmaceuticals, personal hygiene products, bed linen, souvenirs and
sports clothing, jewellery, tour and city buses, car service machinery
and equipment (car wash, paint rooms, lifts etc.), heavy earth-moving
equipment, generators, souvenirs, crafts, beverages and more.
The challenge now
facing the Embassy is to develop mechanisms whereby this vast amount of
trade information can be disseminated expeditiously and as widely as
possible, in The Bahamas.
To this end, the
Embassy is concentrating a lot of energy and attention, at present, on
the development of a website to be launched within the next few weeks,
that would have a specific trade focus.
There are also
plans to establish a Business, Culture and Travel Resource Centre in the
Embassy to promote an understanding of doing business, traveling and
studying in China.
Simultaneously, the
Centre will assist Chinese nationals traveling to The Bahamas for
business by promoting an understanding of the culture, laws and
traditions of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Additionally,
professional translation and tour guide services will be available for
Bahamian persons who travel to China and request professional assistance
with respect to business conferences, trade shows, training programs,
cultural tours and other special events.
Not only are
Chinese businessmen interested in selling products in the Bahamian
market; they are also interested in purchasing raw materials and primary
products from The Bahamas. Despite
the long distances between our two countries, there is a vast potential
for the sale of Bahamian crawfish on the Chinese market; and, in recent
weeks, the Embassy has reported that there has been a strong interest in
the export of conch shells from The Bahamas for the manufacture of
high-end jewellery items.
Chinese businessmen
are becoming more and more aware of the strategic location of The
Bahamas in the Americas, with its top-of-the art containerized port in
Grand Bahama. And the
Beijing Embassy has advised that there is a vibrant demand for a deeper
and fuller knowledge of the financial services that The Bahamas has to
offer the burgeoning, emerging Chinese market.
While our Caribbean competitors have visible trade offices in key
Chinese cities such as Shanghai, the absence of The Bahamas from this
arena is conspicuous.
As the volume and
intensity of commercial activity between The Bahamas and China increases
over the next few years, it will be imperative for the two countries to
enter into a trade agreement to facilitate and augment these activities
and to protect both the Bahamian and Chinese businessmen in their
various endeavours.
In February 2005, I
attended the First Ministerial Conference of the China-Caribbean
Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum, in Kingston, Jamaica, when The
Bahamas and China signed the “Guiding Framework of the China-Caribbean
Economic and Trade Cooperation.
In the months ahead
both my Foreign Trade Department and my Embassy in Beijing will be
working closely with the Chinese government departments in the follow-up
action for implementation of this vital agreement.
I wish also to
offer an explanation and regret that the consular services are still not
available at the Embassy. A visa expert from the Commonwealth Fund for
Technical Cooperation will be visiting The Bahamas again on 13th
September. He is reviewing
all of our processes and I expect that within a short time thereafter,
the anomalous situation that we find in Beijing will no longer exist. At
least in the short term it should be possible to have applications
processed through the Embassy with decision being made in Nassau. I am
aware of the difficulty that Chinese business people face and we are
working to correct this troublesome issue.
Once again, thank
you for inviting me this morning and I wish you every success.
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