PM: We Will Not Be Pressured Into Choices

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Prime Minister Philip Davis sending a stern message to the global community that The Bahamas will not bow to external pressures and will continue to stand by national priorities.

Davis insisting his administration will not be pressured into making any choice.

Amid shifting power dynamics on the global stage, prime minister Philip Davis telling the Royal Fidelity Economic Outlook Wednesday that The Bahamas will not be dictated to or abandon its national priorities to fit neatly within the designs of others.

While he didn’t address any specific issue, his controversial comments come after the United States threatened to remove visas of government officials and others who are believed to be responsible for or involved in a cuban labour export program.

The prime minister said while The Bahamas is small, its size doesn’t determine influence.

U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio said the visa sanctions are an expansion of an existing Cuba-related visa restrictions policy that targets forced labour linked to the Cuban labour exports program.

CARICOM leaders have come out to denounce the move.

Barbados prime minister Mia Mottley credited the work of Cuban nurses and doctors in helping the country get through the pandemic, adding she is prepared to give up her visa if an agreement on the matter is not reached.

Addressing the issue, Davis made it clear that the government is not involved in any forced labour programs.

At the Outlook, he made it clear The Bahamas has taken a stance.

“The Bahamas has made its choice, we embrace international opportunities as a partnership between equals. We will not be dictated to, and we will not be sidelined. When the future is written, it will be clear. The Bahamas stood firm, spoke with clarity, and claimed its place in this turbulent world,” Prime minister Davis said.

The Bahamas employs Cuban nurses and teachers in the public sector amid a longstanding shortage.

Davis also touching on geopolitical issues, saying,

“As trade alliances shift and potential tariff wars emerge, we can and will navigate these tumultuous times through intentional trade diversification strategies that will bolster our resilience to shocks from any single source market.”