Israel seeking bi-lateral relationship with The Bahamas

Israel seeking bi-lateral relationship with The Bahamas
Marvin Dames, Minister of National Security (right), welcomes Alon Lavi, Embassy of Israel Deputy Chief of Mission to Belize and The Bahamas -- during a courtesy call, November 20, 2018 at the Ministry. (BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Officials from the Middle East – namely the Embassy of Israel, have travelled to The Bahamas to engage government and the business community in a number of bi-lateral discussions concerning how both countries can develop a symbiotic relationship.

The team of three Israeli delegates travelled to The Bahamas Wednesday to host a mini-seminar on renewable energy.

The seminar comes at a time when Bahamians are grappling with the increased cost of electricity.

Alon Lavi, Deputy Chief of Staff within the Embassy of Israel took some time out of his busy schedule on Thursday morning to chat exclusively with Eyewitness News on the specifics of his visit.

Lavi revealed that two Israeli renewable energy experts engaged local businesses in discussions on how to effectively tap into renewable energy resources here at home.

He said that The Bahamas could benefit greatly from bilateral agreements with Israel which is a world leader in renewable energy.

“Generally, [renewable energy] it’s a hot topic these days, in particular, The Bahamas. The country does have a need to increase their electricity abilities and we believe with renewable energy in these beautiful islands can be very valuable,” Lavi said.

He said he is confident that the seminar will spark new business development ideas and collaborations between both countries toward creating a viable renewable energy sector in The Bahamas.

“Israel does have a lot to offer in the area of renewable energy because we are coming from a region lacking of oil and lacking of natural resources, and the creativity and innovation is a must for us. So, we’d like to share our experiences and knowledge with interested Bahamians so they too can develop a renewable energy sector here as well,” he said.

Lavi confirmed that Israel is also hoping to foster additional collaborations in other sectors as well.

“Yesterday, I met the president of the University of the Bahamas and we discussed how The Bahamas has great research in marine biology. Israel is also advanced in everything that has to do with the research of agriculture. So, the idea is how can we cooperate to better the outcome of the research here,” he shared.

“In addition, I have meetings here to explore other areas, for example, the agriculture area in Israel is very developed and also water management. We also believe that agriculture is something that can really benefit the Bahamas. In the past, Israel had a big project in Andros and we believe that with the right technology there is the ability for The Bahamas to increase dramatically their agricultural products which will obviously benefit Bahamians.”

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.