Offices and Departments

Political, Economic & Public Affairs Sections

The Political-Economic Section has a diverse mandate consisting of four basic areas:

Political:  The section is responsible for covering political and diplomatic issues in The Bahamas and reporting significant developments to Washington.  External relations, human rights, illegal migration, counter-narcotics, elections, internal party politics, labor issues, terrorism, intelligence and religion are some of the primary reporting responsibilities.  In most cases the Political Section also takes the lead in preparing and presenting official communications to the Bahamian government.

Economic:  The Political Section is responsible for covering economic issues.  Particular areas of focus include trade and investment, energy, financial sector reform, civil aviation, money-laundering and macroeconomic policy.

Commercial:  The section supports American businesspeople interested in doing business in The Bahamas and Bahamian businesspeople looking for information on U.S. products and services.  In addition to answering frequent telephone inquiries and correspondence from the business community and investors, the section sponsors trade shows, leads trade delegations to the U.S. and hosts trade delegations from the U.S.  The section provides information and advice on working and investing in The Bahamas and helps to provide access to the Bahamian Government when necessary.

Public Affairs:  The section manages all media contacts, drafts and distributes press releases, responds to routine press inquiries and handles interview and public appearance requests.  The Section Chief serves as the Embassy spokesman.  The section supervises public affairs programs in The Bahamas, including International Visitors, Voluntary Visitors snd U.S. speakers and maintains close relationships with educational and cultural leaders.