The Commonwealth of The Bahamas Meets The Turks and Caicos Islands to Discuss Maritime Boundaries

– 10th August, 2023

Nassau, NP, The Bahamas. The governments of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos as represented by the United Kingdom met to discuss the maritime boundary delimitation between The Bahamas and TCI on 9th August 2023. During the course of the meetings, delegates will undertake the technical exercise of delimiting an agreed boundary which is vital for the effective management of The Bahamas’ maritime resources as well as its law enforcement activities in the region.

A Bahamian Delegation led by Director General Jerusa Ali (front, center) met with a TCI Delegation.

Settling unresolved maritime boundaries in accordance with international law is a key part of the government’s larger national maritime policy initiative. The Bahamas played an active role during the negotiations of the 1982 United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to ensure that the rights and unique geographical features of archipelagic states like The Bahamas were reflected in the provisions of UNCLOS. The employment of these tenants manifested in the Cuba-Bahamas maritime boundary agreement of 2012 and these legal principles continue to inform The Bahamas’ negotiations with its neighbors, including the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Bahamas’ delegation was led by Jerusa Ali, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supported by lead negotiators and technical experts Capt. Godfrey Rolle, Chairman of the Maritime Delimitation Committee,  Kimberley Lam, Acting Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Maritime Division, Gabrielle Hudson, GIS Analyst BNGIS and Consultant Phillip Saunders, K.C. The Bahamian team included representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, the Ministry of the Environment’s Department of Environment Protection and Planning, the Department of Marine Resources, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Bahamas National Geographic Information Systems Centre, as well as other officials with expertise and experience in relevant fields.