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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, speaking at the official opening of the Embassy of The Bahamas Consular Annex at 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 19, 2014. Behind him is Ms. Faith Maycock, Third Secretary and Vice Consul at the Consular Annex, who was Mistress of Ceremonies.
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Washington, D.C. - Declaring that “this office has good reason to be here,” The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, officially opened the new Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex in downtown Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 19.
“There are three people that I had hoped would have been able to be here,” Mr. Mitchell told guests packed into the suite of offices on the third floor of an office complex at 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W. “One is the Prime Minister and the other is the Deputy Prime Minister. They both had thought that it might have been possible to attend if one could not have. Unfortunately, the exigencies of the Parliamentary schedule made it impossible for them to attend. Yesterday the Prime Minister gave his final budget address in this present debate and both are required to be in Parliament to answer the questions of the Parliament on the allocations of the funds estimated in the budget. I regret therefore that they are unable to be here.”
Mr. Mitchell said he also wanted the Opposition’s spokesman on Foreign Affairs “to be here as well but for a different reason.”
“The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister would have done the honours, but I wanted the Opposition spokesman to see this place since he has indicated that he is opposed to the establishment of this office,” Mr. Mitchell said.
Noting that he explained in the Parliament that “we had been receiving complaints from fairly highly placed Bahamians in the community here that they did not think that enough attention was being paid to their interests,” Mr. Mitchell added, “It was determined that we would do something about that by seeking to encourage their participation in the life of their country overseas and to bring their influence to bear on policies which might affect their country of origin.”
The Foreign Minister said the Bahamas Government is of the view that in order to stimulate national growth and development, “we ought to create synergies amongst Bahamian nationals both at home and abroad, particularly by utilizing and accessing business professionals and entrepreneurs, leveraging and harnessing their skills, partnerships and talents through greater networking opportunities and business ventures.”
The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, is pictured with other members of The Bahamas’ diplomatic corps who were present at the official opening of the Embassy of The Bahamas Consular Annex at 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. on
Thursday, June 19, 2014. From left to right are: the Hon. H. Ricardo Treco, Consul General to Miami; the Hon. Paulette Zonicle, Consul General to Washington, D.C.; His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States; Minister Mitchell; His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS); Dr. Valencia Carroll, wife of the Hon. Forrester J. Carroll, Consul General to New York; and Consul General Carroll.
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“The realization of this office, particularly in Washington, D.C., the seat of U.S. political and economic influence, offers value added contributions and serves as a tangible catalyst for bridging Bahamian constituents resident in the United States of America more closely with The Bahamas,” Mr. Mitchell said. “The overarching objective is to use this office to assist in promoting The Bahamas in the domestic and international spheres.”
Highlighting this factor as “job one” for the Hon. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., Mr. Mitchell added, “I believe that she has made a magnificent start in this effort. I call it beating the bushes to ensure that more of our citizens abroad begin to engage. We shall be monitoring the results at home.”
Mr. Mitchell said it has been decided that as a result of the increased migration patterns of Bahamians in the United States, “there is a need to bring more focused attention to the system and use of honorary consuls.
“Prior to our coming to office, we had not used honorary consuls in the United States, simply relying on the formal offices in the main cities that have served us since the time of independence,” Mr. Mitchell said. “The first of those was the appointment of an honorary consul in Atlanta, Georgia, Mr. Michael Young, who served for 2 ½ years until the Honorary Consul’s office was converted to a Consulate General in August, 2009. We have now sought permission in the United States to establish honorary consuls in Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas, and Los Angles, California, and may also be looking at Denver, Colorado.”
He added, “The idea is to have Bahamians served by people connected to the country from these locations. Eventually, these offices will be able to deal not only with the stranded passengers, people who get themselves in trouble with law, our students, but also be able to deal with applications for visas and passports. We have identified the persons who want to serve. It now awaits the regulatory and host country approvals which we hope will be in the not too distant future.
The Foreign Minister congratulated Consul General Zonicle “for her pioneering work in establishing this office,” and thanked “the following individuals who were instrumental in ensuring that the work was done: Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of The Bahamas, Mr. Philip Miller; Ambassador Elliston Rahming, who served as Ambassador designate to Washington and remains the Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States; Ambassador Eugene Newry, Ambassador of The Bahamas to the United States of America; and Deputy Chief of Mission Chet Neymour.”
The Hon. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., speaking at the official opening of the Embassy of The Bahamas Consular Annex at 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 19, 2014.
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“These persons played essential roles in ensuring that the office opened in a timely fashion and worked with our colleagues in the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the office was properly resourced,” Mr. Mitchell said. “I should also like to recognise the work of our diplomats in other cities in the United States: Consul General Forrester Carroll in New York, Consul General Ricardo Treco in Miami, and Consul General Randy Rolle in Atlanta.”
Mr. Mitchell used the occasion to officially “announce the newest member of our team,” Mr. Michael Fountain, who is now Honorary Consul in Chicago, Illinois.
“Mr. Fountain will report directly to Ms. Zonicle,” Mr. Mitchell said. “All Officers accredited to the United States will report to Ambassador Newry.”
Mr. Mitchell added, “It is not easy starting from scratch but I like the expression: you can never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is a good first impression. I wish to thank our counterparts in the United States government for the timeliness and dispatch with which these matters were handled. I think it speaks well of the relationship which we have in so many spheres and endeavours.”
r. Mitchell said it was his hope that “this office will be of service to the larger Bahamian community” and “will lead to greater trade and commerce and greater engagement with The Bahamas.”
“I hope that our students in this area will find it a place of refuge, a centre for Bahamian life and culture abroad, just as our embassy is,” Mr. Mitchell added. “I have no doubt that the hard worker that Ms. Zonicle is will see the benefits multiple fold in the months and years to come.”
Mr. Mitchell was introduced by Consul General Zonicle, who in her remarks described the opening of Consular Annex as “a red letter day and one of considerable importance to the Government of The Bahamas, led by our distinguished Prime Minister, the Hon Perry Christie.”
“It is of considerable importance because we have taken another important step in providing service to the public and in so doing we have move the presence and image of The Bahamas up another notch, in the eyes of the world and in particularly in this most important diplomatic post in the capital of the United States,” Consul General Zonicle said. “In less than three weeks, The Bahamas will be observing the 41st Anniversary of its Independence. In a short period of 41 years we have made many important strides and by every yardstick we have more than justified our hope, dreams and aspirations when we embarked on sovereign nationhood.”
Consul General Zonicle added, “We have a strong and stable democracy, we have an economy that can sustain and support our people, we have an educated population and in most of the important millennium development goals we can show real gains and a steady upwards trend.
“As we would all appreciate, the role of diplomacy and by extension diplomatic missions such as Consulates is to facilitate dialogue and to make appropriate interventions on behalf of the sending country on behalf of its interests in another country. This fundamental role has not changed and so we as diplomats must act for and on behalf of our home governments in advancing those interests to our host governments. As we can all appreciate, this is a delicate role but it is a necessary one. It is interesting to note that one of the first countries in which The Bahamas established formal diplomatic relations was with our very close neighbors, the United States of America. Again, and interestingly enough, and more to the point of this occasion, we established Consulates in Miami Florida, New York, Atlanta Georgia at the earliest opportunities and given our resources at the time. But it was not until I was appointed in March 2013 that our country could claim to have its first resident Consul General in the capital city of the United States of America.”
Continuing, Consul General Zonicle said, “My first task on appointment was to develop the first Bahamas Consulate General office in this city. It was not an easy task as it called for my staff and me to complete and totally immerse ourselves into real estate negotiations, project and construction management and the likes. But it was a labor of love and today, the Bahamian flag flies proudly at this site, our Consulate General in Washington.
“I would just like to re-enforce what is our mandate and our mission and goal as a Consulate General. It is spelt out quite clearly in our Government’s Charter for Governance 2030, the document which continues to guide the policy formulation of the Government. As outlined in that document the government is committed to increase the embassies and consulates abroad in an effort to strengthen relations in economic development, cultural development, investment opportunities and Tourism related events. With this as our guide post we have sought to pursue our mandate in a real and meaningful way.”
Noting that time “will not allow me to enumerate all that we have done, are now doing and those things which we plan to do,” Consul General Zonicle highlighted “just a few” of the accomplishments of the Consulate since it was established.
“It is clear that we have had a very impactful year and we can expect our activities to increase as we become more and better established and our presence becomes known,” Consul General Zonicle said. “These activities validate the importance of this office and the role of the Consulate General in this most important international center of the world, Washington, DC. For the world business leader this office services both, as the face of, and as the introduction to, The Bahamas.”
Guests attending the opening were welcomed by His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), and brief remarks were delivered by His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States; Mr. Ken Tucker, a Bahamian author and entrepreneur; and Mr. Juan Alsace, representing the United States Department of State.
The Hon. Forrester J. Carroll, Bahamas Consul General to New York, and the Hon. H. Ricardo Treco, Bahamas Consul General to Miami, were among those at the opening.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, and the Hon. Paulette Zonicle, Bahamas Consul General to Washington, D.C., are pictured with staff members of the Embassy of The Bahamas Consular Annex at 1025 Vermont Avenue, N.W., at the official opening of the Consular Annex on Thursday, June 19, 2014. Pictured from left are: Mr. Felipe Major, Administrative Assistant; Mrs. Jan Rolle, Administrative Assistant; Mrs. Deborah Harrison, Administrative Assistant/Secretary; Consul General Zonicle; Minister Mitchell; Ms. Faith Maycock, Third Secretary/Vice Consul; and Miss Stephanie Rahming, Accountant.
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