Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell of the Bahamas was in the Dominican Republic for a two-day visit last week, during which he met with President Leonel Fernandez, his colleague Carlos Morales Troncoso and various business leaders. Mitchell was accompanied by CARICOM High Commissioner A. Leonard Archer.
Mitchell spoke of increased trade and travel between the two Caribbean countries. On Saturday, 15 November, Bahamasair will begin direct scheduled flights to the DR, thus providing a direct air link for the first time.
During a press conference held in Santo Domingo, Mitchell said he would spread the word that the DR is a potential supplier of food products and construction materials (primarily steel and cement) for the Bahamian tourism industry. He commented that Bahamas receives around five million arrivals a year and needs to source most of its products from abroad. He feels that the Bahamas can benefit from sourcing in the DR, where he says products are made far more cheaply than those at home.
To strengthen relations, he said the Bahamas has just appointed their ambassador to Haiti Eugene Newry to represent Bahamian interests in the DR.
Also on his agenda while here was broaching the issue of illegal fishing of Bahamas’ waters by Dominicans. Mitchell, as reported in the Nassau Guardian, said that anyone caught would continue to face the full brunt of the law under the Bahamas Fisheries Act. “And beyond poaching is the question of when they are caught too many times they have immature fish, lobster and conch on board their boats, which means that it is affecting the sustainability of the species in our waters,” he lamented.
Also participating in the press conference were the consul of Bahamas, Hernando Perez Montas, and the president of the Commonwealth Roundtable, Fernando Gonzalez Nicolas.