By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., January 23, 2023 – As chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Bahamas Prime Minister Philip E. Davis is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for the Seventh Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC) on Tuesday, January 24.
Included in the delegation accompanying the Prime Minister are Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, Housing and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis and executives from The Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA).
With the government’s renewed focus on repositioning The Bahamas as a leader in the maritime industry in the hemisphere, the Prime Minister today met with key stakeholders in Argentina’s maritime sector and “gave his imprimatur” to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the BMA and Argenmar, an international shipping company with headquarters in Beunos Aries, according to information that accompanied a photo posted on Facebook by Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.
According to information gleaned from the Internet, Argenmar has “developed a solid network of strategic relationships with leading international shipping and trading companies.”
“In 1992 we started our activities in Argentina, as an independent shipping group, with the aim of offering specialized shipping services for bulk cargo in Argentina and the region. Our main objective is to provide our clients with logistics solutions for their cargoes at the lowest possible cost,” Argenmar notes on its website.
The website adds: “This is accomplished through an experienced and dynamic team of professionals, deeply committed to the concept of customer service. Our main focus has always been on cargoes. The use of ships, barges, terminals, etc., is considered as a means to an end. Instead of focusing on short-range market opportunities, we are industrial carriers that have developed a strong network of strategic relationships with leading international companies.”
The seventh CELAC Leaders’ Summit. CELAC is “a multilateral group of 33 countries from across the Western Hemisphere that excludes Canada and the United States,” according to an article posted on the Internet.
“This year’s round comes at a time when regional integration is a major focus for many of the hemisphere’s leaders, including newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,” the article notes. “He heads to Argentina to lead Brazil rejoining of the group following a two-year absence. And, though the group was originally founded to sidestep U.S. influence, Washington will be present this time around; U.S. Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Chris Dodd will attend.”
The article adds: “CELAC originated in February 2010 as a successor to two similar regional blocs: the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development (CALC) and the Rio Group. The latter formed in 1986 as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS). The late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, one of CELAC’s biggest champions, qualified the nascent group as an effort to challenge the “interference” of the United States. Venezuela and Cuba’s leadership roles in the bloc led some to describe the group as an attempt to reject U.S. influence.
“… CELAC’s members include every country in the Americas, with the exception of Canada, the United States, and the territories of European countries in the Western Hemisphere. Altogether, the organization encompasses 33 countries representing roughly 600 million people.”
Prime Minister Davis assumed the chairmanship of CARICOM for six months on January 1, 2023, and The 44th Regular Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government will be held in Nassau February 15 – 17.
