Diplomatic Week Holds Opening Ceremony
Foreign Minister the Hon. Frederick A. Mitchell speaking at Diplomatic Week Opening Ceremony (Marvin Thompson/OPM Communications)
21st October, 2025. Nassau, NP, The Bahamas. The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs held opening ceremony for Diplomatic Week 2025 at the Baha Mar resort in New Providence.
Diplomatic Week Participants and Guests and the Opening Ceremony (Marvin Thompson/OPM Communications)
Giving the keynote address, Prime Minister the Hon. Philip EB Davis touted the need for international cooperation emphasizing how much the work done by the Bahamian Foreign Service improves the lives of Bahamians at home.
Prime Minister the Hon. Philip EB Davis Giving Remarks at Diplomatic Week’s Opening Ceremony (Marvin Thompson/OPM Communications)
After a brief break, the day resumed with the first plenary session entitled “Emerging Security Threats: The Bahamas Perspective”.
Hosted by Jerome Sawyer, the Panel included Minister of Natonal Security the Hon. Wayne Munroe, Captains Shawn Adderley and Glenn McPhee of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, Senior Inspector General Godfrey Otunge of the Kenyan Army, interim had of the Multinaitonal Security Support Mission in Haiti and Ms. Maria Lorenzo Sobrado, Head of CBRN Terrorism Prevention in the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, discussed The Bahamas’ strategic security prioritities and how the country is partnering internatioanlly to address them.
in Session two, “UN Security Council Reform: Representation and the Climate-Security Nexus, Participants Deputy Director General Gian Dean held a dialogue on aligning the advocacy of small island states to amplify our vices on the global scale with HE Asim Iftikar Ahmed, Permanent Representative of the Pakistan to the UN, HE Elizabeth Solomon, CAROCOM’s Assistant Secretary General for Foreign and Community Relations, HE Mayank Joshi, India’s High Commissioner to The Bahamas, HE Smita Rosetti, the UK’s High Commissioner to The Bahamas and Mr. Edison Sumner, Honorary Consul for Namibia in The Bahamas. The discussion also introduced the Bahamian Perspective on climate nexus.
After a lunch break, the final plenary session of the day: “Women and Multilateralism”, kicked off. Featuring Education Minister the Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, HE Leslia Miller-Brice, MP, High Commissioner to CARICOM, HE Patricia Hermanns, Permanent Representative of The Bahamas to the United Nations in Geneva, HE YAN Jiarong, China’s Ambassador to The Bahamas and HE Erja Askola, EU Ambassador to The Bahamas, discussed how diplomacy can unlock sustainable and effective outcomes for genderp-inclusive policymaking.
Minister the Hon. Frederick A. Mitchell also participated in bilateral meetings with Ambassadors from Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Mexico, France, Kuwait.