Speeches

Address to Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce

March 17, 2005

Ambassador John Darrell Rood

It’s great to be back in Jacksonville and seeing so many old friends.

When I first explained to my youngest daughter, Holly, that we had this opportunity to go to The Bahamas, she asked why I wanted to be an Ambassador.  I explained it was an opportunity to serve our country, to really make a difference, and besides, I said, they'll call me, Mr. Ambassador.  “Dad,” she said, "Couldn't we just stay in Jacksonville, and I'll call you, Mr. Ambassador?" 

We all really miss Jacksonville, but it has been a privilege and an honor to represent President Bush as our ambassador in The Bahamas.

Today I want to talk about being an ambassador.  When I left here last August, I didn’t quite know what to expect.  I certainly did not expect two hurricanes in the first month. 

But one of my favorite parts of the job is helping to deepen the commercial ties between the U.S. and The Bahamas, so I also would like to touch on some of the ways the embassy assists American businesses and what some of the most promising opportunities in The Bahamas are.    

Role as U.S. Ambassador

As the U.S. Ambassador, I have four broad areas of responsibility.

First, I am the manager of the embassy and its people.  Former Secretary Powell told me he never had to recall an Ambassador because of a failure on a bilateral issue, but he had to recall many Ambassadors because of failures of management.

One of the things they don’t tell you, though, is that sometimes the ambassador has to do more than just manage.  I presented my credentials to the Government of The Bahamas on September 1st last year, officially making me the ambassador.  But on September 2nd, Hurricane Frances hit Nassau.  One of my first official acts as ambassador was to order the majority of my staff and their family members to leave the country.  The rest of us rode out the storm bunkered down in a hotel across the street from the embassy.  It was – you may say -- a sort of a corporate retreat.  And this was the first step to developing a strong team under my direction.

My second area of responsibility is to work on the specific bilateral issues between our countries.

I just got back from a trip to Washington where I discussed our bilateral relationship with members of the Florida Congressional delegation.  We’ve got a cooperative counter-drug effort with The Bahamas called OPBAT which seizes tons of cocaine and marijuana each year, keeping those narcotics away from our shores, mainly Florida’s shores.  We also work with the Bahamians to interdict illegal migrants at sea.  We combined to stop more than 5000 illegal migrants last year.  Those are good programs that  benefit both countries. 

The embassy works a great deal on what are called consular issues.  Over four million U.S. tourists visit The Bahamas each year, some of whom get injured or have health difficulties, encounter legal problems and end up in jail, or are the victims of crime.  We do everything we can to help those Americans.  We also provide visa services to tens of thousands of Bahamian travelers, something we try to do as efficiently as possible.

My last area of responsibility is what we call public diplomacy.  I spend a lot of time communicating with Bahamians on things that are important to us.  Whether it is the spread of democracy or stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS.  I meet with school kids and business leaders.  In the Bahamas the primary media is radio and I have spent countless hours on radio shows.  I am very proud of what we -- as Americans -- value and I want the Bahamian public to have a greater personal understanding of those values.

So those are my four areas of responsibility: leadership and management of the embassy, bilateral issues, overseeing our consular assistance and reaching out through public diplomacy.  It has been a very busy six months!

The Embassy’s Commercial Section

One of the specific things the embassy does – as a part of our bilateral program -- is promote American business.  We have a Commercial Section that takes the lead on our business advocacy efforts.

The Commercial Section’s main objective is to facilitate trade and investment between the United States and the host country, in this case, The Bahamas.  Commercial Officers, some from the Department of Commerce and some from the Department of State, are the eyes, ears, and in-country advocates for U.S. business interests throughout the world.  We help to ensure that American business people, farmers and workers have a level playing field on which to compete for foreign trade and investment.  We work to ensure the protection of American intellectual property and the fair treatment of U.S. investments overseas.

In The Bahamas, the work of the Commercial Section includes:

• Identifying high quality potential markets for American goods
• Bringing overseas opportunities to the attention of U.S. clients.
• Helping U.S. clients meet buyers, distributors, franchisees, and agents
• Providing information to American businesses on how to do business in The Bahamas
• Identifying promotional events with the significant opportunities

The Commercial Section also handles economic and trade matters, such as informing the Bahamian government of U.S. trade policies, and is involved in agricultural, fishery, health, environmental, and civil aviation issues.

Our embassy in Nassau has been particularly active in working to match Bahamian businesses with potential U.S. partners.  We recently hosted a trade mission from Palm Beach.  The delegation consisted of Palm Beach area businesses, local government officials, and the Palm Beach Port Authority.  We arranged one-on-one appointments between the participating American businesses and potential Bahamian partners, distributors, or agents, in both Nassau and Freeport.  The Palm Beach Port Authority signed an agreement to renew its “sister port” status with Freeport, which dates from 1996.  The group also toured the container port, a polymers plant, and met with the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce.  Several years ago the embassy coordinated a trip by the Jacksonville Port Authority to Freeport to discuss opportunities to expand their business relationship.

Later this month, the Commercial Section, in cooperation with the Nassau Chamber of Commerce, is sponsoring a business seminar and expo.  One of the half-day seminar sessions will provide Bahamian businesspersons with valuable information on marketing, finance, and business plans.  Another half-day session will focus on franchising, including both the franchising of Bahamian businesses and the purchase of American franchises by Bahamian franchisees.  American participants in the event will have opportunities to meet with Bahamian businesspersons wanting to become franchisees, distributors, or agents.

The protection of intellectual property rights is another area being addressed by the embassy in Nassau.  For years, Cable Bahamas has been distributing pirated cable television programming over its systems throughout the Bahamas.  Pirated DVDs and CDs are readily available throughout Nassau and Freeport from video stores that sell nothing but pirated media and from roadside vendors.  The embassy’s commercial officer is working to address both of these issues and level the playing field for American copyright owners.

The Commercial section is mandated is to promote U.S. exports to The Bahamas.  Presently, the U.S. is the Bahamas’ largest trading partner.  Despite its small size, The Bahamas is a significant market for American exports.  In 2004, it is estimated that it imported over two billion dollars in U.S. goods.  With few domestic resources and little industry, The Bahamas imports nearly all its food and manufactured goods.  Approximately 88 percent of its imports originate in the United States, and most Bahamian purchases of third-country exports are acquired through American distributors.  It may be difficult to increase U.S. exports to The Bahamas, but it is, nevertheless, a goal.

The Commercial Section works to be a one-stop shop for Bahamians trying to make contact with American businesses.  The commercial library is equipped with a number of trade directories and publications.  Patrons to the library are also permitted free Internet access in the event they are not able to locate information in any of the publications.

The Commercial Section publishes a bi-annual commercial newsletter, which is distributed to a number of Bahamian businesses and provides information on American trade policies relevant to Bahamians, business leads and information on upcoming trade shows in the U.S.

The Commercial Section explains trade policies and issues to the Bahamian Government and, on behalf of the US Trade Representative (USTR) promotes policies that will enhance the quality of life for America and its trading partners by decreasing barriers to trade.

The Commercial Section is an advocate for American companies operating in The Bahamas.  We assist American companies in resolving trade and contract disputes, and look for opportunities for US companies to compete in the local market. 

The Commercial Section works with the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and local businesspersons to foster greater understanding of US trade, business, and economic policies.  In most countries, an American Chamber of Commerce handles this activity.  However, here in The Bahamas, there is no American Chamber of Commerce, so we work very closely with the local Bahamian Chambers of Commerce, both in Nassau and on Grand Bahama Island.

Business Opportunities in The Bahamas

Tourism is by far the major industry in The Bahamas, and it is growing.  In 2004 The Bahamas hosted over 5 million visitors despite the hurricanes, with most going to Nassau and Freeport.  There is tremendous room for growth on the Family Islands.

Light industry is another potential growth area.  The Bahamas has an educated, well-trained workforce, modern and efficient transportation facilities in Freeport, and a workforce that is currently underemployed.

Freeport has a tremendous world-class transportation hub, which includes the container port and the airport.

Very little food is produced on the islands.  As population and income levels grow, potential for increased food exports to The Bahamas and investment in agricultural production operations on the islands.  Bahamas Food Services is one of the largest food service companies in the Bahamas and the US partner, Beaver Street Seafood, of Jacksonville, operates it.

Entrepreneurs in The Bahamas are enthusiastic and eager to grow and they welcome U.S. investment and involvement in the Bahamian economy.  The stable government and economy, along with the proximity to the United States, make the Bahamas a good place to internationalize and expand businesses.

Conclusion

I have enjoyed my first months as U.S. Ambassador.  The job has been challenging but extremely rewarding.  I look forward to many opportunities ahead, especially the opportunity to promote U.S. businesses in the Bahamas.