BY FAY SIMMONS
TRIBUNE Business Reporter
jsimmons@tribunemedia.net
THE PRIME Minister yesterday urged international investors to help The Bahamas turn its ocean, land and cultural resources into trade, investment and jobs, pitching the country’s “blue, green and orange” economies as new frontiers for development.
Addressing the opening of Diplomatic Week 2026, Philip Davis KC called on overseas partners to invest in shipping and logistics, sustainable agriculture, agro-processing, clean energy, marine research and cultural enterprises, arguing that The Bahamas has natural advantages it must do more to convert into economic opportunities.
“The orange, blue and green frontiers are open,” Mr Davis told participants, adding that The Bahamas is stable and governed by the rule of law. “In a world like this one, that may be the most valuable offer on the table.”
Mr Davis said the country wanted prosperity that Bahamians own, with local entrepreneurs able to access the capital needed to build businesses at home and graduates able to see their future in The Bahamas.
He identified the ocean as one of the country's most significant economic frontiers, arguing that The Bahamas' extensive marine territory and position along major shipping lanes could support greater investment in shipping, logistics and transshipment across the Americas.
Mr Davis also pointed to the proximity to the US, the world's largest consumer market, as an advantage for investors looking to develop commercial activity around regional and international trade.
On agriculture, he highlighted the country's continued dependence on imported food, noting that the problem had been identified by the late Sir Lynden Pindling in 1973 but remained unresolved more than five decades later.
“Fifty-three years later, we still import most of what we eat. Every imported meal is a vulnerability,” said Mr Davis.
He urged investors to support sustainable farming, agro-processing and clean energy, arguing that reducing The Bahamas’ exposure to overseas food supplies is a matter of national security as well as economic development.
The Prime Minister's third frontier was the ‘orange economy’, encompassing Bahamian music, art, Junkanoo, food, story-telling and design. He called for partnerships that will help local artists, festivals and cultural enterprises reach international markets and generate greater commercial returns from The Bahamas’ cultural identity.
Mr Davis said the three frontiers offered investors opportunities that could endure beyond changes in the country's political leadership, while creating jobs and expanding trade.
Beyond the investment pitch, however, he warned that the international environment is becoming more difficult for small states, with supply chains being redrawn around security concerns, trade disputes multiplying and commitments on climate and development coming under strain.
Mr Davis also highlighted the withdrawal of correspondent banks from the Caribbean, stressing that small states are bearing the effects of decisions over which they had little influence.
He argued that small states needed a stronger voice in the international institutions and financial decision-making processes that affect their economic prospects, including the boardrooms that determine the price of capital.
Mr Davis also called for international financing arrangements to account for climate vulnerability rather than relying primarily on national income when assessing a country's needs.
He cited Hurricane Dorian, which struck Abaco and Grand Bahama in September 2019, causing damage and losses estimated at about one-quarter of The Bahamas' national output or $3.4bn.
“A country can look wealthy on paper and still lose a quarter of its economy to a single storm,” he said. “Finance on fair terms has to reflect vulnerability as well as income.”
The argument is particularly relevant to small island states, which can face substantial reconstruction and resilience costs following natural disasters despite having income levels that may limit their access to concessional financing.
Mr Davis said small states also want greater recognition of the historical circumstances that shaped the region and the climate crisis they had done relatively little to cause.
He presented the country's commitment to stable institutions and sound governance as part of its offer to international partners, pledging that The Bahamas will honour its treaties, meet its financial obligations, maintain independent courts and keep its public service clean.
“The Bahamas will keep its word,” he said. “We will honour our treaties. We will pay our dues. We will keep our courts independent and our public service clean. We will meet the standards we ask of others.”
Mr Davis also used his address to press for international support for The Bahamas' bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council for 2032 and 2033, arguing that small states need to be represented in institutions responsible for decisions affecting their future.
He framed the country's investment appeal within a broader argument for international co-operation, noting the rules-based international order that protects small states also benefits larger countries.
“The frontiers are mapped. Orange, blue and green. The partners are here. What remains is the choice to act,” he said.