NASSAU, Bahamas — The government will establish investment attachés at Bahamian embassies around the world to facilitate trade and foreign direct investment, which Prime Minister Philip Davis said will in turn improve the ease of doing business in The Bahamas, The Nassau Guardian reported on Monday, July 18, in an article written by Paige McCartney.
The prime minister was addressing the annual National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) awards and scholarship luncheon in Miami, Florida, where he was the guest speaker, on Friday, July 15.
“To attract investments to The Bahamas and expand trade, my government is moving to establish international trade and investment attachés in all of our embassies. Our regional tourism offices will also offer resources to facilitate synergies and linkages. In addition, our foreign missions will implement international secondment programs for international companies that hold Bahamas work permits and others,” he said.
“We have a number of multinational companies that work in The Bahamas, they have work permits to allow for their employees to work in The Bahamas, but we want to add to that the possibility of exchange programs with these multinationals to ensure that Bahamians are exposed to other aspects of their business. This policy we think will improve the ease of doing business with The Bahamas and support the country’s already favorable investment climate.
“We are in the process of refocusing the Bahamas Investment Authority into a nimble promotional arm, focused on attracting investment and industry across all industrial sectors to The Bahamas, including tourism and travel. Coupled with the support of the Bahamas Tourism Development Corporation, our investment climate is poised to become even more attractive.”
While the World Bank has discontinued issuing its Ease of Doing Business Index – which ranks jurisdictions based on the processes to start and operate a business – the government has placed an emphasis on improving the country’s deficiencies.
In the last index on 2020, The Bahamas was ranked 119 out of 190 countries.
At a NABHOOD event late last year, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper said the Davis administration would push to improve The Bahamas’ ease of doing business score into the top 50 countries. See article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/investment-attaches-to-be-posted-at-embassies/
