The third Plenipotentiary Representative of the Bahamas to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Picewell Forbes recently presented his Letters of Credence Caricom Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque, at the Caricom Secretariat.
In a press release, the Caricom Secretariat said Forbes was a veteran broadcaster and communications specialist. According to the Secretary-General, the appointment by the recently-elected government of the Bahamas is testament to its commitment to Caricom. He highlighted “the significant strides the Bahamas has made in pursuit of national development and in its contribution to regional integration.”
Regarding the former, LaRocque lauded the country’s aggressive quest for development in energy, tourism industries and agriculture. Job creation, youth empowerment and advances in education, were other areas he said are part of the Bahamas’s “new era of prosperity.”
Sounding out its participation in regional programmes and projects, the Secretary-General noted that the Bahamas has been actively involved in areas of human and social development, climate change, foreign policy and security, as well as trade and economic development. Of particular significance, he said, was the strength the Bahamas’ voice added to those of its fellow Caricom member states in seeking to articulate and defend the Region’s interests in the global arena.
“…whether by advocating for reconsideration of the discriminatory Air Passenger Duty (APD) applied by the British Government which impacts our competitiveness in tourism; or whether by ensuring global attention, through the United Nations, to the scourge of chronic non-communicable diseases …; or by advocating for reform of international financial institutions like the World Bank and the IMF and to address the peculiar characteristics of small, vulnerable and highly-indebted middle-income countries such as ours,” the Bahamas has been active participant in Caricom, the Secretary-General said.
According to the Secretary-General, Forbes’s accreditation came at a critical juncture when efforts were being made to strengthen the Community through reform and change, with a Community Strategic Plan and a restructured secretariat as two key elements.
“As I seek to drive this process forward, I shall be counting on you and your colleague Caricom Ambassadors to give input and to facilitate the requisite consultations which must take place at the national level, to ensure that this process reflects the priorities of member states and the aspirations of our people,” he said. LaRocque also said that the ambassador’s vast experience and expertise in the area of communication, placed him “particularly well,” in making a contribution to involve the people of community in the transformation exercise.
Meanwhile, Forbes said while his government has the “utmost confidence” in the Caricom Secretariat execution of community decisions is critical and more focus must be put on addressing inadequate governance structures and operation challenges in some Caricom agencies.
It was this premise that he suggested that careful review be given to the findings of the reports of consultants on the operations of the secretariat and the operations of the security organisations in the region.
Forbes also noted that Caricom had evolved through a series of challenges and it had much to be proud of and had remained steadfast “to its goals of unity of purpose and unity of voice in the protection and promotion of the community’s developmental goals. “As a community, we have been a part of many achievements of functional cooperation to which we can point with pride,” he said. According to Forbes, another issue of great significance to the Bahamas was the reconstruction and recovery efforts in Haiti. He too was emphatic that the international donor community needed to honour their pledges to that nation. “We have all done our part in seeking to assist our sister nation to progress quickly towards her developmental and rehabilitative targets.
The community and “friends of Haiti,” far and near, must continue to implore the international donor community to make good on its pledges to Haiti,” he concluded.
