Press Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs After Participation in 72 UNGA

24 September, 2017

Press Statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs After Participation in 72 UNGA

Colleagues and Members of the press, good evening.

I am delighted to be back home along with members of my delegation, after attending the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This, as you are no doubt aware, is my first GA as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The 7 days spent in NY, 17-24 September, were very productive, where I participated in a number of meetings and events, as well as had bilateral meetings with several other Foreign Ministers. The highlight of the trip was my delivery of the national statement of
The Bahamas, 23 September, during the general debate of the Assembly.

Climate change and the recent monster hurricanes that impacted The Bahamas, other parts of the Caribbean and the USA , dominated discussion throughout the Assembly. For this reason, the UN Secretary General and the President of the 72nd GA convened a high level donors meeting to discuss the impact of Hurricane Irma on the Caribbean.

Even while this meeting was taking place, Hurricane Maria was already gathering strength and eventually went on to have devastating consequences in Dominica and other countries. The UN and donor partners stand ready to help, and in the coming days The Bahamas will continue to engage with them to obtain the requisite assistance.

Something that became patently clear, and to which the international community has now become more sensitised, is that we cannot go through a cycle of rebuilding after a storm, only to have the efforts destroyed a few years later when a weather event occurs.

The weather pattern now shows that storms are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. Therefore, we have to focus on building resilience and putting in place appropriate mitigation and adaption strategies.

In presenting the National Statement of The Bahamas to the Assembly, I sought to underscore the priority placed by the Government on:
(1) the need changes in the international financial sector in order to allow small island states like The Bahamas trade and do business successfully
(2) the preservation and protection of the environment
(3) combatting climate change, fighting crime, drug trafficking and the trafficking of persons
(4) the eradication of corruption
(5) issues pertaining to education and health
(6) the candidatures of The Bahamas for membership on various UN bodies – Human Rights Council, IMO and ITU

There were a number of CARICOM meetings in which I participated; namely a meeting of CARICOM Foreign Ministers and sessions with Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, Australia, the Nordic Countries, Canada and India. In all of these meetings there was discussion about the hurricanes and assistance that was needed. We also discussed other forms of technical cooperation and people to people exchanges that could be undertaken in the coming months.

In a meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers we discussed ongoing reforms being taken by the Secretary General, Baroness Scotland, to strengthen and improve that organisation. This discussion will continue when the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth meet April 2018.

I also participated in a meeting on the reform of the United Nations convened by President Trump of the United States, where along with some 120 other countries we signed a Political Declaration aimed at simplifying procedures and decentralizing decisions, with greater transparency, efficiency and accountability at the UN.

I met with the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates where he pledged some $10 million of support for the region for hurricane recovery; the UAE has also given the Caribbean $50 million to support energy initiatives. The Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan and I discussed the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations with The Bahamas. I discussed ongoing relations with the Assistant Secretary of State of the United States. I also signed a document to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, bringing to 122 the number of countries with whom The Bahamas has relations.

During a Ministerial Meeting of the Global Governance Group (3G), I had the opportunity for exchange between H.E. Miroslav Lajçak, President of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, 3G member states and the G20 troika. Discussed issues included poverty eradication, women’s empowerment, global economic stability, innovation and education, and climate change. I addressed the group to highlight the effects of climate change on The Bahamas, particularly the devastating effects of hurricanes to the infrastructure, economy and welfare of the country.

One of the greatest moments of the trip was the opportunity to meet with some members of the Bahamian Diaspora 22 September. The event was recorded live on Facebook and thereafter my remarks were sent to the media for publishing. The Bahamian Diaspora in NY is dynamic and consists of persons from a wide range of disciplines, such as law, medical, academia and banking, and there were students pursuing degrees from the Bachelors to PHD levels. This is a rich and deep pool of persons from which The Bahamas can draw for expertise and needed skills, whether it is to have them come home and help us with national development, or whether it is that they assist from the communities in which they reside. As I said to them “Never forget that this is your country, and you have the right to be a part of its development.”