Noble, Honourable, Learned, Reverend and Distinguished Guests…
Ladies and Gentlemen…
Good morning.
It gives me great pleasure to be with you this morning.
Just a month ago, we in The Bahamas were delighted to host the 2024 ‘Afreximbank Annual Meetings’ and ‘AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum’.
It was truly a significant event, with over 5,000 delegates attending.
At the time, I noted that, we wanted to demonstrate “the determination and commitment of The Bahamas to leverage on the shared history, identities, and cultures of AfriCaribbean nations, in order to forge significantly greater trade, investment, and direct transport linkages”.
“We firmly believe that by doing so, we will stimulate economic growth and development, and build on the opportunity to speak with a unified voice on matters such as securing global action to meaningfully address climate change.”
The event was a multi-layered success, and we congratulate the Bank and the Forum on all that was achieved.
I understand that some of you here attended in person.
I hope that, beyond those intense days of discussion and deal-making, you who did attend, seized the opportunity to see something of our beautiful country.
But if you left The Bahamas without a little bit of sand between your toes, can you say that you were there?!
But I go further.
It is not until you meaningfully engage with the Bahamian people, not until you immerse yourself in some aspect of our culture, can you really say that you’ve experienced why ‘It’s Better in The Bahamas’.
And the point, though obvious, is true of us all.
Our nations are defined by our people: by their individual talent and ingenuity, and by the collective cultural expressions which have emerged from them.
To meet our people is to know who we are.
Of the 20 countries in the Caricom region, and the 54 countries on the African continent, in so many ways, we are the same.
Not surprising given our shared histories.
But it is also true that, in so many ways we are different.
And while we celebrate those differences and the diversity of thought and expression that accompany them, it is in those spaces that we also find the disruptions and opportunities which is the focus of this Summit.
The disruptions are many: some long-term and seemingly entrenched, others shorter term, but similarly disruptive.
For example:
Consider the legacy impacts of colonialism, and the plundering of resources, for which reparations have never been paid, which has meant that our national development has been handicapped, from the first moment of Independence.
The negative impacts of climate change present a double whammy, landing two sets of disruptions upon us.
In The Bahamas and other Caribbean States, we have been rendered as some of the most vulnerable places on the planet.
We have some of the lowest carbon emissions in the world, and yet we are among the worst affected.
We are also threatened with having to pay an existential price for rising sea levels, unpredictable weather patterns, and catastrophic hurricanes which are increasingly more frequent and more severe.
Despite pronouncements to the contrary, industrialized countries which are the greatest polluters, have yet to fulfil commitments made for the Loss and Damage we suffer, particularly as a result of hurricanes.
Initiatives to cancel some forms of debt, have also not made great progress.
For countries like mine, where more than a third of our debt results from the impacts of climate change, we have been locked into a vicious cycle of ‘Disaster, Debt and Rebuild…. followed by yet another ‘Disaster’.
Hurricanes rip across our islands, leaving extensive amounts of damage in their wake.
We then have to borrow in order to repair and homes, restore the infrastructure and so on, only to have another hurricane hit a year later, inflicting even worse damage on weakened structures, and forcing us to borrow yet again.
Some of you will have your own version of this on the continent. Our hurricanes are your floods, wildfires and drought.
More recent events have highlighted some extremely harsh truths.
The COVID-19 pandemic may be over, but just as the virus still lurks around, so too do the effects of that crisis, which are seen in escalating prices, degraded healthcare infrastructures and, as I said, huge burdens of debt.
So many countries in both our regions suffer the same story of broken infrastructure and weaknesses in the supply of energy.
Many of us have young populations, desperate for jobs and opportunities, and, increasingly willing to take to the streets to agitate for them.
We struggle with our ability to deliver good healthcare, to eradicate poverty, and to promote better education for all.
As disruptive as these events are, and have been, yet still we see many silver linings, and many opportuities.
For example:
In The Bahamas, we are pioneering efforts to use Carbon Credits as a way of monetizing our natural sea grassess, which absorb more carbon than the Amazon basin.
We have implemented trailblazing legislative and regulatory frameworks to facilitate the trade in and responsible management of digital assets, especially through our ‘Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges’ Act.
And we were the first country to introduce a Central Bank digital country, the Sand Dollar.
We are also tackling what we view as unfair practices in the regulation of anti-money landering, and anti-tax evasion activities and the financing of terrorism.
We have taken a leading role in building a coalition of support to implement fundamental reforms to the global tax financial architecture, which is now being developed by a working group of the United Nations.
We have helped to facilitate peace and stability in our region, by playing an active role in the de-escalation of conflict between Guyana and Venezuela, and in contributing to the multilateral efforts to help the people of Haiti find a long-lasting solution to their troubles.
I don’t think it’s unfair to say that few people ever expected intiatives like these, from small countries like ours.
Perhaps our efforts in tourism have been a little too successful, and few can imagine much more for us than sun, sand and sea.
But Ladies and Gentleman:
There may be a limit as to how far we can prevent or dilute the disruptions that are thrown our way, a limit to the opportunties that others bring; but we have much control over how we respond to the circumstances with which we are presented.
And so, my African and Caribbean brothers and sisters, what examples from our experience in The Bahamas can we offer that will hopefully shine at least a little light on the way forward?
Firstly, never relinquish that sense of ‘agency’, where you just sit back, content to be a ‘rule-taker’ and not a ‘rule-maker’.
Size, geography, history and all the other obvious constraints, do not have to be barriers.
While we agitate loudly to be compensated for any number of grievances and injustices, let us also focus our energy on what we can do to drive our own progress.
Next, Participate!
Show up!
Engage!
Invest!
Few things are best done alone.
Many more successes are achieved by working together.
We are here, because we believe that engagement is fundamental to progress.
Whether that engagment is bilateral or multilateral, operating at an individual, local, national or regional level, we stand to benefit.
And finally, Leadership, a concept which sits at the heart of this Summit.
In The Bahamas we are a population of only 400,000 people, scattered across some 16 main islands within an archipelago of some 700 islands.
But we do not hesitate to stand up, step up, and step forward on the issues big and small, which affect us.
I wish more voices would join us.
I wish our chorus to be louder.
Earlier I expressed the hope that our visitors left with sand between their toes, and Bahamian friendships in their hearts.
This was more than just a whimsical desire.
You see, in The Bahamas, this is how we do business.
We understand that God has blessed us with the kind of sunshine, sand and sea that make us desirable to visit.
But we also understand that it is because of our Bahamian culture, that people will want to come back again and again, and even want to stay.
We appreciate that the Bahamian character and spirit, is one that must be nurtured and promoted to make us attractive to investors the world over.
I pray that a little of our example inspires you to navigate the disruptions and seize the opportunities of our time.
As the power of Africa is unleashed, and the potential and long-held promise of the continent is realised, my Brothers and Sisters this you should know: The Bahamas is open for business!
And in friendship and co-operation, in partnership and in solidarity, you are, most welcome!
Thank you.