THE BRITISH COLONIAL HILTON HOTEL

MONDAY, 20TH FEBRUARY, 20
 

Governor Bush,
Ambassador Rood,
Ms. Tanya Wright, President of the Chamber of Commerce,
Presidents of the Rotary Clubs of New Providence,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon.

I want to join with the previous speakers, Governor Bush in warmly welcoming you and your delegation to The Bahamas.  You are no stranger to The Bahamas and we hope that this visit is an indication that you will find more time to visit your friends here and enjoy some rest and relaxation.

The relationship between the United States and The Bahamas has always been special. I am advised that official records commence after the American War of Independence with the migration of loyalists to The Bahamas from the Carolinas and Florida.  In the mid to late nineteenth century, many Bahamian families settled in the Florida Cays as can be seen from the many Bahamian surnames there and the Bahamian architectural style, a prominent feature in the Cays.    At key points in the 20th Century, significant numbers of Bahamians migrated to Florida to facilitate Florida’s economic growth.

Today, The Bahamas and Florida remain linked through strong cultural and family ties as well as trade and business relationships. Floridian merchants continue to demonstrate their confidence in the Bahamian market to Florida by regularly advertising sales and other bargains in our local press to attract shoppers to Florida.

The Financial Times recently heralded the construction boom in The Bahamas the result of “several billion dollars of investments in big tourism developments in the pipeline”.  Florida will benefit from this construction boom.  A significant amount of the raw material to be used in construction in The Bahamas will be imported from Florida.

Data obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division, Data Dissemination Branch, through to October 2005, shows that the total amount of Exports from the US to The Bahamas was approximately 1,448 million dollars and the import amount from The Bahamas to the US was approximately 624 million dollars representing a trade imbalance of 823 million dollars.    Other notable statistics are:
• Based on dollar value The Bahamas is ranked 14th out of the top 25 countries, in total U.S. Exports via Florida
• The Bahamas is ranked 26th out of the top 50 merchandise imports origins
• The Bahamas is ranked 19th out of Florida’s top 50 merchandise trading partners.

These statistics are significant given the size of our country and its population when compared to other countries on the same lists.  Furthermore, these figures do not take into account the vast number of Bahamians in schools or colleges in the United States.

Florida, especially through Miami and Fort Lauderdale International Airports and the Ports of Miami, Port Everglades and Cape Canaveral, benefits tremendously from the fact that many of the more than 5 million visitors arriving annually in The Bahamas arrive through Florida.

In a recent interview with the press Prime Minister Perry Christie stated:

“The “good faith” relationship between Florida and The Bahamas – not just as a trading partner but as a state that has an enormous number of Bahamians or descendants of Bahamians living there, should ensure that any issues affecting either Florida or The Bahamas, should be dealt with in a constructive manner”.

Today, Governor Bush, as Minister of Financial Services and Investments, I would like to acknowledge the growth in trade between our nations that has occurred while your hand guides Florida’s development. Also, at this luncheon with leading Bahamian business persons, I would like to emphasize from the Prime Minister’s aforementioned list, the considerable economic benefits that accrue to Florida, the result of its relationship with The Bahamas.

I also would like to emphasize our appreciation of the fact that Ambassador Rood, a businessman, has indicated your government’s willingness to decrease the trade imbalance by promoting Bahamian entrepreneurship and trade with Florida. We also appreciate his commitment to promoting events like this in Florida to heighten Floridian appreciation of the significance of The Bahamas as a trading partner.  We look forward to building on our very strong friendship to the mutual economic benefit of our great nations.

Again welcome to The Bahamas and we look forward to hosting you on many more occasions.