On 9th-10th December 2024, the European Union Export Control Programme for Dual-Use Goods Global Project 103 organized with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, a first “ Awareness-raising workshop on the control of trade in dual-use goods” in Nassau.

The workshop introduced government authorities of The Bahamas to the specific international political and legal frameworks of strategic trade controls on dual-use goods and technologies, as well as their rationale and the key elements of a national control system. Together, Mrs. Cloretta Gomez, Acting Deputy Controller of Customs, and H.E. Ambassador Dr. Erja Askola, Head of the EU Delegation to Jamaica, Belize and The Bahamas opened the event in presence of Government authorities.

The event was actively attended by 40 representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of National Security, the Ministry of Finance – Bahamas Customs Department, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Financial Intelligence Unit  and the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection.

Participants activity dealt with the major topics of dual-use items’ trade control, such as International legal framework and multilateral export control regimes (NSG, AG, MTCR, WA) and the UNSCR 1540, the control lists, the licensing process for dual-use goods and services, the aspects of enforcement, investigation and prosecution, and the challenges of exposure to proliferation financing.

The workshop facilitated a substantial exchange between the EU P2P experts and The Bahamas governmental officials, on European and Bahamian experiences of strategic trade controls on dual-use items. The Bahamas officials presented the existing elements of the national strategic trade control and respective operational mechanisms, as well as options for the way ahead, and reviewed together possible methodologies and activities for a possible future collaboration. Against that backdrop, the workshop participants also discussed possible orientations and a roadmap of activities for The Bahamas -EU P2P partnership.