Left to right: Permanent Secretary Miller, Ms. Johnson, and Ambassador Newry.

Nassau, Bahamas -- Mr. Philip Miller, Permanent Secretary of The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, May 21, met with Ms. Lisa A. Johnson, who has been assigned by the United States Department of State as the new Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, Bahamas.  

Also participating in the meeting, held at The Bahamas Embassy in Washington, D.C. were His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States; Mr. Chet Neymour, Deputy Chief of Mission, Bahamas Embassy; Ms. Krissy Hanna, Second Secretary, Bahamas Embassy; and Mr. Mikhail Bullard, Third Secretary, Bahamas Embassy. Mr. Miller was in Washington as part of his official visit to the Department of State and the various Bahamas Missions in the United States.    

The Bahamian officials welcomed Ms. Johnson and extended the good offices of The Bahamas Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in lending its assistance to Ms. Johnson during her diplomatic tenure in The Bahamas. Providing an insight into some of the key areas with which The Bahamas would like to engage the United States, the Bahamian Officials expressed their desire for further collaboration with the United States Government beyond the traditional ambit and focus on security initiatives, in areas including the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and assistance in achieving related compliance measures, alternative energy sources, the provision of technical expertise and best practices in improving detention facilities in The Bahamas, greater levels of engagement with the United States, sustainable development, improving the terms and conditions for The Bahamas to access capital from International Financial Institutions (IFI) and the elimination of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the sole determinant, the vulnerabilities faced by Small Island Developing States, including The Bahamas, and assistance in accessing resources.  

Ms. Johnson is a career US diplomat and is expected to assume her role as Deputy Chief of Mission in June, 2014, in advance of Ms. Cassandra Q. Butts, who has been nominated by President Barak Obama as the new U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas. Ms. Butts is currently going through the confirmation process by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.