REMARKS FOR SENATOR THE HON. MICHAEL B. HALKITIS, MINISTER OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS, FOR THE SECOND CARICOM-COLOMBIA MINISTERIAL SUMMIT, BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA

FRIDAY, 28TH JANUARY, 2022, AT 10:30 A.M.

Theme: “We adapt and cooperate together for economic recovery, health, climate change and gender equity.”

Mr President, thank you for your pledge of solidarity and support to the Caribbean region.

Thanks are also extended to Madam Vice-President and Chancellor, Madam Secretary-General, Excellencies and various Ministers of Government (Fellow Delegates) for their informative presentations in which they offered many areas of potential cooperation and exchange.

Good Morning.

The Government of The Bahamas is pleased to be participating in this Ministerial Meeting, with the timely theme, “We adapt and cooperate together for economic recovery, health, climate change and gender equity.”

It is quite a great honour and privilege for me to be here today representing the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and to speak on the topic of ‘Renewing mutual interest in strengthening bilateral relations between CARICOM and Colombia’.

Later this year will mark 45 years of cordial diplomatic relations which The Bahamas has shared with the Republic of Colombia. Even though most of our interactions have been on a multilateral basis, the Government of The Bahamas recognises the need for more bilateral collaboration and growth through shared experiences.

We are experiencing increased levels of tourist arrivals from Colombia, and we look forward to exploring greater opportunities for investment in the Tourism industry.

The Bahamas anticipates continuing and expanding its relationship with the Republic of Colombia through its participation in this High-Level Meeting, where areas of economic growth can be further explored.

The Bahamas also extends its appreciation to the Government of Belize as the Current Chair of the Caribbean Community and the CARICOM Secretariat for helping to facilitate and bring CARICOM member-states together to discuss bilateral matters with the Government of Colombia.

Our region is confronted with a range of daunting challenges, but we have to face them, both individually and collectively. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most present of these issues; however, Climate Change and the many related weather events and natural disasters remain clear and present dangers for our countries. In the aftermath of crisis, we must seek ways to diversify and build more resilient sectors of the economy.

Economic Recovery and Climate Change

The Bahamas wishes to express thanks to the Government of Colombia for its financial support towards Hurricane relief efforts, which has aided economic recovery in The Bahamas. Responding to the challenges presented by Climate Change and the COVID-19 pandemic remains a high priority area for The Bahamas. Furthermore, The Bahamas is committed to collaborating with CARICOM and Colombia to strengthen and expand on practical cooperation that is mutually beneficial to all parties, to overcome the damages caused by this pandemic, and natural and climate disasters.

Health

Moreover, the Government of The Bahamas would also like to thank the Government of the Republic of Colombia for its pledge and contribution of 1 million US dollars to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to support vaccination efforts in CARICOM member-states. Your generosity was greatly appreciated and significantly helped The Bahamas in its vaccination scheme during a crucial time when access to vaccines was scarce. We listened initially to the Minister of Health of Colombia’s revelation that the Cancer Research Centre will open immediately. Cancer and other non-communicable diseases pose significant health challenges for Bahamians and we look forward to working together in this area. We welcome Colombia’s vaccine production facility programme and we would like to know how can we share communication strategies to combat vaccine hesitancy?

Other Matters

I will add that The Bahamas is committed to expanding its cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Trade, and looks forward to gaining knowledge and experience from Colombia in an effort to build our capacity. We hope to augment our bilateral and multilateral approaches to agriculture, food security and cultivation, including the promotion of educational exchanges in agricultural technology development. The Bahamas welcomes Colombia’s proposal of Agricultural insurance for micro production and niche value added segments of agriculture.

This would allow The Bahamas to draw on the opportunities that the proposed Agreement on Trade, Economics and Technical Cooperation could present, in addition to fostering a more dynamic, commercial and economic relationship between Colombia and The Bahamas.

We believe that the promotion of increased trade and financial investments in the sustainable development initiatives will help us all to achieve our common goals.

Lastly, The Bahamas believes that joint action will be a benefit to the region, in order to combat the challenges we are facing on a daily basis. Our collective development will facilitate strengthening the region to build a better future, one that will be mutually beneficial, and one where we continue to make good use of the CARICOM-Colombia Forum to promote cooperation between our countries.

I thank you.