Accompanying Prime Minister Philip Davis to the Dominican Republic for the Luis Abinader second term inaugural, Bahamas Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell gave an interview to El Nuevo Diario and said relations between both countries were excellent. He said relations were so good, any inconvenience was resolved by a phone call.
Mitchell said that one of the reasons why Prime Minister Philip Davis came for the inaugural was that he wanted to thank President Luis Abinader personally for the assistance the Dominican Republic provided in the evacuation of the Bahamas mission staff in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He said the gesture has strengthened the relations between both countries.
Mitchell says that negotiations are advanced for the signing of several cooperation agreements, especially in security and defense. He said a First Meeting of the Mechanism for Political Consultations between the DR and Bahamas is being prepared. “We are interested in increasing bilateral trade and doing so in a direct way,” he told El Nuevo Diario.
He said Bahamas is working with the Dominican Republic at the OAS on matters such as Haiti and Venezuela. He stressed the importance of collaboration to deal with regional challenges and the interaction with the United States.
He explained that The Bahamas deals with Haitian illegal migration by deporting unauthorized migrants in 72 hours.
The Foreign Minister was accompanied by Dominican ambassador Angie Martinez, who is concurrent to Jamaica. In January 2023, Martinez became the first Dominican ambassador to present credentials in The Bahamas. The DR has had diplomatic relations with The Bahamas since 1991.
The Bahamas at present holds the presidency of Caricom.
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El Nuevo Diario
El Nuevo Diario
20 August 2024