The minister made this statement last night as he officially opened an international conference at the Wyndham Nassau Resort that focuses on such arrangements like the Free Trade of the Americas.
“The old laid back laissez-faire attitude that seemed so characteristic of so many Bahamian workers must be replaced with a “can-do” spirit that believes that all things are achievable,” said Minister Peet, who delivered a speech on behalf of Prime Minister Perry Christie.
“We must become more skilled and competitive,” the Minister told the gathering. “We must improve our productive capacities if we are to trade successfully with the rest of the Americas.”
He acknowledged that globalization has not been good for some small economies, but has been good for others.
Minister Peet pointed out that those smaller economies, like Singapore’s economy, that have succeeded in the move towards globalization have adapted well to change.
“The small countries that have done well are those with well-educated populations who were prepared to make the necessary changes to benefit from the economic sources that are sweeping the world,” he said.
Conference Chairman, Obie Ferguson, said that The Bahamas has to properly develop strategies to address the implications of agreements like the Free Trade Area of the Americas.
He said to do that requires more time than the 2005 deadline allows.
“We need more time for peoples of the region to properly evaluate all aspects of the proposed agreements,” Mr. Ferguson said. “An extended period will enable us to be in a better position to make intelligent decisions on these life-changing matters of global trade.”
He added though that there will be symbiotic opportunities through the 34 nations of the FTAA.
“In The Bahamas, some 300,000 persons will be able to take advantage of a $13 trillion market derived from 800 million people,” he said. “On the other hand, each of that huge number would be able to come into this little market and function.”
Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), one of the co-sponsors of the conference, Frank Maresca, said that it is important that Bahamians understand the advantages and disadvantages of signing on to the various trade liberalization agreements, both in a bilateral and in a multilateral setting.
He said that the challenges facing The Bahamas in the area of trade over the next several years include trade negotiation preparation, participation in a wide range of almost simultaneous negotiations, domestic consensus building and trade agreement implementation where appropriate.
“These challenges present certain cross-cutting needs for The Bahamas which include public awareness and education as well as building and strengthening overall negotiating capacity,” Mr. Maresca said.
The conference continues throughout the week.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
