NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Bahamas was promoted as a more attractive centre for investment for potential investors, during Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Hubert Ingraham’s Official Visit to the People’s Republic of China recently. The Prime Minister disclosed details of his trip during a Press Conference on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at the British Colonial Hilton.
His visit to Hong Kong, ahead of going to mainland China, provided opportunities for him and his delegation to meet with a number of private sector individuals and groups involved in the tourism sector, financial services, and maritime services.
“It was a considerable pleasure to attend the official opening of a Bahamas Maritime Authority Office in Hong Kong, our first such presence in the Asian and Pacific regions. The office will serve as a springboard to increase the Bahamian ship registry while promoting and attracting foreign investment in other areas,” he said.
Potential investors and various officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Sector were provided with information on The Bahamas’ “ambitious” infrastructural investment programme and on developments in tourism plant which “will help to secure our economic recovery and make The Bahamas a more competitive and attractive investment destination,” the Prime Minister said.
He added, “Information was provided on Government’s ongoing reform and modernisation efforts to rationalise and simplify procedures and regulations in order to make doing business in The Bahamas easier for Bahamians and foreign investors.”
The Prime Minister held discussions with the leaders of Hutchinson Whampoa on the Government’s intensive medium-to-long-term strategies to reinvigorate Grand Bahama.
“In seeking to improve Grand Bahama’s competitiveness in a number of strategic areas, we intend to build on our success in attracting to The Bahamas one of the region’s largest transshipment centres and a major ship repair facility,” he said.
While in Beijing, he reaffirmed with representatives of the Chinese Government, the strong ties and mutual interests shared by the Bahamian and Chinese people in areas ranging from economic development to education to climate change.
The Prime Minister said he was also pleased to meet with a number of Chinese entrepreneurs in the telecommunications, computer and construction sectors during his visit and that he looks forward to future collaboration with some of these companies to improve services and infrastructure in The Bahamas.
“As a result of our visit, The Bahamas may benefit from technical cooperation with China in a number of areas including urban planning, sustainable development, green technology, tele-medicine, distance learning possibilities for the Family Islands and cutting-edge communications technologies, among other areas,” he said.
The Prime Minister said he was also happy to meet with some of the 20 Bahamians in China pursuing tertiary studies in various disciplines. He said he was proud to note that two Bahamians served as language interpreters for remarks given by him at a reception hosted by the Bahamas Embassy in Beijing, and at the presentation of Junkanoo pieces to the Chinese Cultural Museum
By Lindsay Thompson
Bahamas Information Services
