Senator leads trade meetings in U.S.
Minister of State for Grand Bahamas Senator Kwasi Thompson is currently heading trade mission to Washington, D.C. for a series of meetings with U.S. companies, U.S. government officials, U.S. Chambers of Commerce and the business community, in an effort to attract business and investment to The Bahamas and in particular, Grand Bahama.
“I along with the Bahamian delegation completed the first day of a Trade Mission to Washington DC,” Senator Thompson noted in a Facebook post on Monday.
The Bahamian delegation included Ambassador Sydney Collie, the President of The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Edison Sumner and other chamber officials, other Government officials from Ministry of Tourism and the Bahamian Embassy and Grand Bahama Port Authority.
Neil Herrington, Senior Vice President from Unites States Chamber of Commerce, was among those the delegation met with on Monday.
“We informed them of the new initiatives to attract investment such as the Commercial Enterprise Act and the reforms on the ease of doing business,” the Senator said.
“We also discussed the Technology Hub Initiative by the government for Grand Bahama and our desire to attract Technology businesses to Grand Bahama. Discussions were also expressed about opening a U.S. Chamber office in Grand Bahama to help attract investment.”
The delegation also met with Alexander Peacher, Office Director from the U.S. Department of Commerce, on ways the U.S. government can assist in making The Bahamas even more attractive for investment.
“We also met with Belen Gallegos of Select USA, which is an arm of the Department of Commerce, which can assist Bahamian companies set up and access the U.S. market,” he said.
Meetings with the U.S. Exim Bank were also held to discuss ways Bahamian companies can access funding.