Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell presents His Excellency Yuan Guisen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, with a gift at the Farewell Reception in honour of the Departure of the Ambassador at Luciano’s of Chicago, Wednesday, March 23, 2016.  Also pictured from left: the Chinese interpreter; wife of the Chinese Ambassador, Madame Yang Hong; and the Ambassador of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Paul Andy Gomez.   (BIS photo/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)

NASSAU, The Bahamas — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell said the continued interest and investments of the People’s Republic of China in The Bahamas are welcomed.

Minister Mitchell spoke at the Farewell Reception in honour of the Departure of His Excellency Yuan Guisen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, at Luciano’s of Chicago, Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

The Minister said the investments that China has made to The Bahamas to this date have included:

• Technical assistance in education (miscellaneous scholarships), to the benefit of our students and future international citizens of the world;
• Medical field to the benefit of our visually impaired;
• Family Island infrastructure to the benefit of coastal protection;
• Hurricane relief to the benefit of our distressed nationals;
• The Baha Mar Resort Development to the future benefit of the country’s tourism industry.

In regards to the Baha Mar Resort, Minister Mitchell said Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie remains enthusiastic about its completion.  “He went all of the way to China in January 2015 on an Official Visit and discussed the related modalities (airlift, management) of the development with your President to ensure long-term success. We hope that, when it does open, you will be able to enjoy the facilities in their fullest.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration the Hon. Fred Mitchell presents Madame Yang Hong with a gift at the Farewell Reception in honour of the Departure of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China at Luciano’s of Chicago, Wednesday, March 23, 2016.  Also pictured from left: Ambassador Yuan; the Chinese interpreter; and the Ambassador of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Paul Andy Gomez.   (BIS photo/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)

The Foreign Affairs Minister said, “It is with this same sense of hope that, as we witness global changes on both sides of our relations in the face of important domestic and international challenges – climate change; sustainable development goals; economic factors (the Renminbi Yuan being recognised in November 2015 as an IMF reserve currency and joining the elite club of such currencies, in which The Bahamas would wish to trade) – we will continue to count China as a strong partner in The Bahamas’ efforts to establish a stronger foundation for Bahamians.”

The Minister explained that as an affirmation of this, The Bahamas attended the 6^thCaribbean-China Consultation in Barbados, where the report of Foreign Ministers on the state of relations between the two sides was seen to be excellent.

He said that during Ambassador Yuan’s tenure, the establishment of seamless travel arrangements between the two countries occurred on December 19, 2013 with the signing of the Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement.  During his tenure, the Ambassador had also become Dean of the Diplomatic Corps of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

The Ambassador explained that the two governments have achieved substantial progress in various spheres, including political trust, economy and trade, culture and education, health cooperation, judicial and military exchanges.

“The mutual understanding and trust has been deepened.  The economy and trade cooperation, the volume of Chinese investment in The Bahamas in particular has expanded greatly.”

However, the Ambassador said there is no denying that there are still challenges, which include the difficulty surrounding the Baha Mar Resort.

“Here I want to make it clear that the Export-Import Bank of China and China Construction America are responsible enterprises.  As a community of common interests, the stakeholders from China and The Bahamas have demonstrated the spirit of crossing a river in the same boat as well as the practical and inclusive approach.

“With our joint efforts, positive progress has been made.  It is not remote for the resort to be remobilised and opened, which will definitely benefit the Bahamian people and economic development,” the Ambassador said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip Davis is pictured here with His Excellency Yuan Guisen and Madame Yang Hong.  (BIS photo/Raymond A. Bethel, Sr.)