The Hon. Ricardo Treco, Bahamas Consul General to Miami, is pictured with Mr. Donald Carey, Hope Town District Council member; Arthur Elden, Hope Town District Council member; Mr. Donald Cash, Hope Town District Council member; Hon. Edison Key, Member of Parliament for South & Central Abaco; Mayor Troy McDonald, Stuart Florida; Chief Councillor Jeremy T. Sweeting; Senator Gary Sawyer; and ASP Noel Curry, Royal Bahamas Police Force
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HOPE TOWN, Abaco -- Mr. Ricardo Treco, Bahamas
Consul General to Miami, and the Honourable Troy A. McDonald, Mayor of
Stuart, Florida, accompanied by his wife Portia Scott, paid an official
visit to Hope Town, Abaco, for the signing of a sister city agreement
between Hope Town and Stuart, at a special session of the Hope Town
District Council on Saturday, July 26, 2014.
Upon
arriving in Abaco, the party was welcomed at Marsh Harbour
International Airport by Mr. Jeremy T. Sweeting, Chief Councillor; Mr.
Preston Cunningham, Senior Island Administrator; Mr. Harold Malone,
Deputy Chief Councillor for the Hope Town District Council; Donald Cash,
Councillor, Hope Town District Council; Assistant Superintendent of
Police Noel Curry, Royal Bahamas Police Force; Mr. Edison Key, Member of
Parliament for Central & South Abaco; Mr .Renardo Curry, Member of
Parliament for North Abaco and Parliamentary Secretary in the Office
of the Prime Minister; and Senator Gary Sawyer.
A
special tour of the island was organized by The District Council,
with visits to the Wyannie Malone Historical Museum, the waste
management site, and the White Sound dune road site. Among other
points of interest was the Man–O-War Cay Heritage Museum that features
the culture and heritage of early inhabitants of Abaco.
Noting
that the major highlight of the official visit to Abaco was the
signing of the agreement of the Sister City Relationship between Hope
Town, Abaco and Stuart, Florida, Consul General Treco said this
activity speaks volumes for the great foreign relations of The Bahamas
and emphasized the ways in which it will enhance the economic
development and infrastructure of Abaco through great partnership and
citizen to citizen diplomacy.
The
Sister City/People to People program was inaugurated in 1956 by
President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, in an effort to
establish and promote greater friendship and understanding between the
people of the United States and other nations through the medium of
direct personal contact. Many countries have endorsed this program and
have joined numerous cities of the United States in adopting and
implementing programs through cultural exchange, humanitarian
assistance, youth and educational programs, and economic and sustainable
development.