WELCOME TO CARIBBEAN PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION
MIDTERM CONFERENCE

20TH MAY 2005

I wish to welcome you all of The Bahamas on behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas.  I am sure that you have excellent hosts in the Bahamas Pharmaceutical Association.  I hope that you feel a warm welcome to our country and that you will take away useful and happy memories of your short stay in Nassau.

This is an interesting time to be in The Bahamas.  You are no doubt aware of the debate that is current in our country as we seek to further define our relationships in the region.  Since independence in 1973, The Bahamas has been constructing a series of associations and relationships within the region, more closely integrating the fabric of its life, government and economy with the other countries in the region.  This has immeasurably enriched our lives and our country has progressed as result of labour and capital inflows from the Caribbean region and around the world.

The Bahamas became a part of the United Nations and many of its specialized agencies in 1973 shortly after independence.  It is also a member of the Organization of American States, and the allied Summit of the Americas process.  That process includes the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas and it also includes a set of mandates and goals, embracing more specific targets than the millennium development goals which arose out the processes of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which saw its birth in our own region with the first conference in Barbados.

In 1983, The Bahamas joined Caricom.

We are members of a number of the related institutions of Caricom, including the University of the West Indies the Council of Legal Education, the Medical Accreditation Council, the Caribbean Disaster Relief Agency, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Tourism Organization and a host of other co-operative bodies where the country coordinates many aspects of political and social policy.

The site of this conference is on Cable Beach, which is undergoing the beginnings of a Renaissance with a new billion-dollar project on stream for its development.  There was a time when its fortunes were quite down, and during that time significant investments from Jamaica saved the look and feel of Cable Beach when no other investor would spend their money.  That saved jobs and that furthered our economic development.

Your visit here at this time then is propitious for without saying anything more it is a symbol of the integration of The Bahamas within the regional context.  It simply makes sense for people in the same region to talk to one another, share experiences and learn from one another.

That is the way of Caribbean society, which has to operate within the sea of American influence and culture.  We join together to talk and share experiences and make common decisions for the better enhancement of the lives of our people.  There is no compelling argument against the need for co-operation and the exchange of ideas, and pursuing common goals.

I am sure that while you are here your colleagues in The Bahamas would want to know your views about the future with regard to our participation in Caricom and what opportunities and benefits there may be for that continued association.  One of their concerns is about the rights of establishment within the Caricom context, which as you know is confined to those areas of the economy that are foreign exchange earners, and the retail and wholesale trades fall without its ambit.

It is also interesting to note how country friendly the Caricom relationships are with the requirements for a unanimous vote to move toward any number of specific actions, and the ability of countries to opt out of provisions if it is in their sovereign interests.  It is a kind and gentle institution, which I believe has demonstrated that it has served the region well.

For the rest, it is left for me to say that The Bahamas prides itself on being the premier tourism destination.  The largest percentage of its Gross Domestic Product is generated by tourism and the services related to it.  Then there is the contribution of the financial services sector.  All of this requires substantial inputs of outside labour and capital, working harmoniously with the great body of Bahamian workers.  This relationship is symbiotic and has served us well.

The leadership provided by our country in the region has seen over the past 30 years a transformation of the economies of the region into being more convergent with most countries now embracing services as the lion’s share of their domestic economies.  This is all the more reason why we must work together.  I hope that you will reinforce that in your conference: the end to work toward commons standards, to uplift and protect the profession throughout the region, and the need for continued dialogue.  I believe that The Bahamas continues to be part of the process.

I am sure that you will use this opportunity to learn more about our country and to discuss with your Bahamian counterparts the mechanisms for further enhancing your profession and enriching the way of life of our region and our respective countries.

I want to thank you all for coming to Nassau.  Once again I hope that you feel at home and will take pleasant memories of our country when you return to your respective habitations.