NASSAU, Bahamas — A $5m commercial faming venture that involved a former US ambassador to The Bahamas was yesterday identified as one of three competing investment proposals targeting North Andros, The Tribune reported on June 18 in an article written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell.
“Documents obtained by Tribune Business name Ned Siegel, an ex-US ambassador to this nation under George W Bush’s administration, as a partner in an ‘American-Bahamian partnership’ seeking to lease 25,000 acres of land from the Crown and Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC) in the Twin Lakes area on Andros,” The Tribune’s article noted.
It added: “Mr Siegel did not return Tribune Business’s call seeking comment yesterday, and several sources suggested he may no longer be involved with a project that is thought to have been formally submitted to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) for the necessary government approvals last year. It is thought that the project has stalled in the approvals process, with some sources — speaking on condition of anonymity — suggesting the Government would be unlikely to lease such a vast amount of land to any investor. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Government’s drive for food security may revive interest in it.”
According to The Tribune’s article, “The Bahamas Agricultural Resources (BAR) project, detailed in a paper dated from January 2019, lists US father-and-son duo, Benjamin and Jamin Simmons, who have extensive farming interests in Louisiana, the Carolinas, Maryland, Georgia and Uruguay, as principals in the project alongside Mr Siegel. Also named as their “Bahamian partner” is James Edgar Curling, owner of sand miner Tycoon Management.”
With over 30 years of entrepreneurial successes in the private sector, Mr. Siegel is the president of The Siegel Group, a multi-disciplined international business management advisory and consulting firm he founded in 1997 in Boca Raton, Florida, according to an article published on the Caribbean Israel Leadership Coalition (CILC) website when he officially joined the CILC as an advisor on March 26, 2019.
“The Siegel Group specializes in real estate development, energy, utilities, infrastructure, financial services, oil & gas and cyber & secure technology. Amb. Siegel has extensive experience in private equity investments in Israel, bringing together people, businesses and governments in collaboration to connect the right partners and innovative solutions,” the CILC website noted.
Pointing out that Mr. Siegel “is a former United States Ambassador to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, serving from 2007-2009,” the CILC website added, “Prior to his ambassadorship, he was honoured to serve two additional presidential appointments. In 2006, Mr. Siegel served with Ambassador John R. Bolton at the United Nations in New York, as the Senior Advisor to the U.S. Mission and as the United States Representative to the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, and from 2003-2007, he served on the Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)”
The website added, “CILC is an alliance of governmental, industry and civil society leaders from the Caribbean and Israel that work together synergistically to bring the best of Israeli technology, expertise and investment to the region for its sustainable development.”
