Over 200 guests gathered on Wednesday, 3rd May 2023 to hear the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hon. Philip Davis MP, speak at our Annual Reception at the House of Lords in London.
 
The Prime Minister spoke passionately about the continuing and growing success of the Bahamas’ tourism and financial services industries and in particular the effectiveness of regulators in the financial services space, as evidenced by the actions taken in the wake of the FTX collapse.
 
He also spoke about the need for global dialogue about climatechange to now turn into meaningful action given the costs which small island states bear as a result of increasingly destructive storms and hurricanes. New financing models to support adaptation and reduction in emissions for the Bahamas were now being looked at to leverage the carbon sink of seagrass – the largest field of which is in Bahamas EEZ.  It is now the Government’s objective to implement universal household use of solar power by 2030 and a swift intermediate transition to LNG.
 
We were honoured to have PM Davis as our Guest of Honour.
 
British Foreign Minister for the Caribbean, David Rutley MP, warmly welcomed the Prime Minister and spoke of the UK’s determination to work with the Bahamas and other small island developing states to combat climate change. He also spoke of the UK Government’s desire to see a mutually beneficial trade and investment relationship grow and prosper in the coming months and years ahead.
 
An annual event in Parliament, the Caribbean Council’s Annual Reception is attended by business members of the Council, MPs and Peers, members of the diplomatic corps, and key stakeholders from the Caribbean community in the UK.
 
The headline sponsor for this year’s event was Kanoo Pays – a leading Bahamian digital payments and fintech firm giving people and businesses in the Bahamas access to the latest finance app technology, facilitating online payments and bringing down consumer costs.
 
The silver sponsor was Mott MacDonald – the world-leading UK consulting firm, that specialises in engineering, project management and consultancy and is delivering projects across the Caribbean to support climate resilience, improve social outcomes and enhance economic performance.