Rt Hon. Hubert Minnis
Prime Minister of The Bahamas

It is with pride and pleasure that I welcome the introduction of The Bahamas section on the Commonwealth of Nations website, the electronic addendum to the member country information in the Commonwealth Yearbook, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s flagship publication.

Since its founding, the Commonwealth has lived up to its Declaration of Principles, that of being a voluntary association of independent sovereign states, each responsible for its own policies, consulting and co-operating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding and world peace.

The Bahamas has and continues to play its part in the affairs of the Commonwealth and remains committed to the principles of the organisation. Indeed, The Bahamas was privileged to play a pivotal role in the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa by extending the economic sanctions against the white minority government at the 1985 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Nassau.

In fact, our former Prime Minister, the late Sir Lynden Pindling, was appointed Chairman of a group of Commonwealth Heads of Government to review the progress of the sanctions that eventually led to the freeing from prison of Nelson Mandela and the peaceful transition to majority rule in South Africa.

The Commonwealth, which makes up about one quarter of the world’s population, continues to be a force for good in international affairs, assisting member nations in the monitoring of elections and the peaceful transfer of power, providing technical assistance, and helping to address the social, political and economic challenges of the peoples of the world.

I am therefore delighted to invite the millions of Commonwealth viewers, and millions more residing outside of the Commonwealth, to visit www.commonwealth-of-nations.org to find out more about The Bahamas, one of the smallest but also one of the most stable democracies in the Commonwealth of Nations.

The above message was provided by the previous Prime Minister. 

The Bahamas in the Commonwealth

did you know?

• The Bahamas joined the Commonwealth in 1973
• The Bahamas became an independent country on the 10th of July 1973
• The Bahamas has been taking part in the Commonwealth Games since 1954, and has won 25 medals in total
• Debbie Ferguson of The Bahamas took the Commonwealth Games Women’s 100 Metres record when she won the event in 10.91 seconds in the Manchester Games in 2002
• Robert Antoni, born in The Bahamas in 1958, was winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best First Book award with his novel, Divina Trace, in 1992
• Elaine Toote, Director of the Department of Archives, The Bahamas, was Chair of the Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers 2005-08
• The Bahamas enjoys the third highest per capita income among all Western Hemisphere countries led only by the United States and Canada
• The country is a coral archipelago of about 700 islands and more than 2,000 cays and rocks and has some 3,500 km of coastline

Commonwealth meetings hosted

• 1985 CHOGM, resulting in the Nassau Declaration on World Order and Commonwealth Accord on Southern Africa
• 2006 Sixth Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting in Nassau
• 2009 Fifth Commonwealth Local Government Conference held in Freeport

Commonwealth Projects

Capacity Building in Legislative Drafting (2007/08)
The Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned this project as a way of overcoming delays in the preparation of legislative instruments, by using the assistance of a legislative drafter. The expert was providing on-the-job training to legislative drafting staff in order to develop the capacity to prepare legislation and provide the legal framework through which new policies were approached and then implemented.

Telecommunications Regulatory Advisor (2003/04)
The Commonwealth Secretariat introduced a telecommunications advisor who provided assistance and advice to the Public Utilities Commission on policy, licensing issues and regulation.

Development of Sustainable Tourism (1997/8 – 2001/02)
The Commonwealth funded a project where a plan of action was drawn up for the development of sustainable tourism in the country, following an investment promotion workshop for the tourism sector.

Assistance with WTO Status (1997/8 – 2001/02)
The Commonwealth funded a project which provided assistance to the Government of Bahamas in deciding the feasibility of joining the WTO. An assessment was made on the impact of the reduction of tariffs required by the WTO on the Bahamian economy.

Functional Eco-Souvenirs Industry (1987/8 – 2001/02)
This project, commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat, began to manufacture custom-designed high-margin eco-souvenirs for the Disney market and high-income tourists from the United States, as a way of creating income-generating opportunities among the Family Islands.