|
COMMUNICATION TO PARLIAMENT
THE HON. FRED MITCHELL MP
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
3rd May
2006
I wish to report to the House on my
work over the past week as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Last week in Grenada from 24th
to 25th April, I attended the annual meeting of the Council
for Foreign and Community Relations of Caricom (COFCOR). The Bahamas
relinquished the Chair in favour of Grenada. The meeting decided inter
alia that following on the inauguration of President elect Rene Preval
of Haiti there is to be a special mission of Foreign Ministers of
Caricom to Haiti
to enable and facilitate the re-entry of
Haiti into the Councils of Caricom.
Following the meeting in
Grenada,
I represented The Bahamas in
Barbados at the biennial UK/Caricom Forum from 26th to 28th
April. There were a number of issues discussed with the British Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw including trade matters. This was an important
precursor to the biennial summit of leaders of the European Union, Latin
America and the Caribbean
(EU/LAC) to be held in Vienna,
Austria from 12th to
13th May. At the forum in
Barbados a number of initiatives were
concluded on security matters, particularly as the region prepares for
the World Cricket Cup 2007.
Following the visit to the Caricom/UK
Forum, I made an official visit to Antigua and Barbuda at the invitation
of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda
and more particularly the Ministry responsible for Barbuda Affairs.
That visit took place from 28th April to 30th
April. I pledged a gift to the primary school in
Barbuda
of one thousand US dollars for their use from the people of The
Bahamas. I have also agreed to explore the offering of two bursaries
for students from Barbuda
at the College of
The Bahamas
for hotel training that is an important sector in
Barbuda.
Further, I was the guest of the Prime Minister of
Antigua and Barbuda
Baldwin Spencer at the Zimbabwe/West
Indies cricket match and later taken on a tour of the U.S. 55 million
dollar cricket facility that is being built by the Chinese and the
Antiguan and Barbudan Government for Cricket World Cup 2007.
I wish to report that the Ambassador to
Caricom countries Leonard Archer attended a special COTED meeting. This
is the Caricom Trade Minister’s group. The meeting was held in Barbados
on Saturday, 29th April. There are a number of important
international trade issues that have to be decided by The Bahamas,
particularly as it relates to the relations with the European Union.
Next week, I am to represent the Prime
Minister as Head of Delegation at the Caricom/Spain Summit in
Madrid
from 10th May to 11th May. Following that I am to travel as
Head of Delegation to Vienna,
Austria at the EU/LAC Summit
from 12th May to 13th May.
The Bahamas will also be represented at
the inauguration of President Elect Rene Preval at the level of our
Ambassador to Haiti, Dr. Eugene Newry. I should also like to announce
that Dr. Newry presented his credentials to the President of the
Dominican Republic as Ambassador to that country on the 17th
April 2006.
Finally, Mr. Speaker I wish to report
to the House that I have brought to the attention of the United States
government the concerns and complaints of Bahamian citizens about
secondary searches conducted at the ports in Florida by US Customs and
Immigration. U.S. Ambassador
John Rood has indicated by letter dated
27th April that random inspections are performed by the
Immigration, Customs and Drug Enforcement agencies in the United States
from all over the world, “no one country is the target of these random
inspections. The fact that a flight has been pre-cleared has no bearing
on these random inspections at a final destination in the United
States.”
I witnessed one of the searches myself,
and the reason for my inquiry was because of complaints by various
Bahamian passengers about the manner of the searches and the nature of
the questions asked. I would only say that the searches are the right
of the American authorities just as we are able to search in this
country, and this right applies even though the flight is pre-cleared.
Bahamians should note that there is always that possibility. There is
also a complaints service that Bahamians can access if they are not
treated with the necessary courtesy and respect. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs stands ready to assist where these normal mechanisms
fail.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
|
