(Office of The Prime Minister, The Bahamas) – The government of The Bahamas anticipated and welcomes this new hemispheric political development of normalized relations between the United States and the Republic of Cuba and believes this to be useful and good for the Inter-America system and the hemisphere generally.
With this, all thirty-three countries in the hemisphere, from Canada in the north to Chile in the south now enjoy some level of formal diplomatic ties. This is consistent with the foreign policy philosophy of the Bahamas government – to have peaceful and good relations with your neighbours.
We believe that this agreement will lead to a reduction in tensions in the region and as for The Bahamas, it is hoped the beneficial impact will manifest itself in the area of a reduction in illegal migration into this country from Cuba and greater opportunities for Bahamian businesses.
This is a step in the right direction and one the Bahamas government had anticipated given the discussions between my government and our Cuban counterparts both in the Organization of American States and in Cuba during the CARICOM-Cuba Summit.
In this new dispensation of regional diplomacy, the government of the Bahamas is committed to greater collaboration with all of our neighbours on national issues of mutual concern including tourism, health care, education, international trade and commerce including agriculture.
