The Rt. Hon. H.A. Ingraham, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, announced in the House of Assembly yesterday that he would be using the occasion of his upcoming visit to Canada for the Annual Meetings of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to lead a Trade and Investment Promotion Mission to that country. The mission will include stops in Western and Eastern Canada.
He advised Parliamentarians that he would be joined in the Trade and Investment Mission by the Attorney General, Sen. the Hon. John Delaney, QC, the Minister of Tourism, Sen. the Hon. Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and the Minister of State for Finance, the Hon. Zhivargo Laing. Senator Delaney holds portfolio responsibility for the promotion of the financial services sector while the Ministry of Finance holds responsibilities connected to the regulation of the sector and the negotiation and implementation of Tax Information Exchange Agreements.
The trade mission to Canada will include officials from the Office of the Prime Minister/Bahamas Investment Authority, Ministry of Tourism, The Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), members of the Bahamas Financial Services Board, the Head Officers of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board and the Out Island Promotion Board, the President of The Bahamas Real Estate Association and representatives of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and BORCO.
He noted that BFSB will host financial services and international business seminars in both Calgary and Toronto. The seminar in Calgary will be followed by a luncheon meeting at the Calgary Petroleum Club during which Government and private sector presentations will be made on business opportunities in The Bahamas. In Toronto, the Royal Bank of Canada and Scotia Bank will jointly sponsor a luncheon meeting at the Toronto Board of Trade where again the delegation will have the opportunity to make Government and private sector presentations to interested persons of note in Canadian business and commerce.