Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Joshua Sears demitted office at the end of July when his contract expired.
Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell told The Bahama Journal that the government has already begun the process of finding a new ambassador.
“The way the process works is that the foreign ministry submits nominations to the prime minister, who reviews them,” Minister Mitchell said.
“He has some names that he is considering. And in due course, he would let us know what his nominations are. At the moment there is a charges dﾒaffaires in Washington.”
In this role, Mr. Newry is for the time being in charge of a diplomatic mission in the absence of the ambassador.
Traditionally, The Bahamas Ambassador to the United States also serves as the permanent representative to the Organization of American States (OAS).
The OAS brings together countries in the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation and advance common interests. It is the regionﾒs premier forum for multilateral dialogue and concerted action.
Mr. Sears has stressed that an important and significant benefit of the countryﾒs membership in this organization is its facilitation of developing closer relations with all countries in this hemisphere and the establishment of diplomatic relations with some of those countries, which would not have been possible, otherwise.
During his farewell speech to the organizationﾒs Permanent Council last month, Mr. Sears reflected on some of the OASﾒ strides during his tenure like some of its landmark decisions including the 2004 Special Summit in Monterray that dealt with economic growth with equity to reduce poverty, social development and democratic governance.
He also stressed that some fundamental measures need to be implemented to make the organization more efficient and effective.
“The working group on procedure and priorities has done some valuable work on the procedures to facilitate the work of the Organization of American States,” Mr. Sears said.
“It is regretted that we were unable to reach consensus, but clearly it is in the interest of member states to finalize this work so as to enable the organization to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency,”
At the time, he also stressed the importance of the organization promptly addressing the issue of fellowships/scholarships.
“We must be mindful that in seeking to implement guidelines which foster better administration, we must not lose sight of the fact that the lives of our youth are being placed on hold and most importantly one of the recognized vehicle of development is being interrupted especially for the small states of this development,” the former US Ambassador said.
Before demitting office, Mr. Sears was quick to thank thanked his staff and family.
The government recently presented monetary contributions towards a variety of OAS programs to promote democracy and peace and combat illicit drugs and firearms trafficking, as well as corruption and terrorism, in the nations of the Americas.
The checks totaled $30,000.
The programs to benefit from contribution include the OAS Special Mission in Haiti; the Belize-Guatemala Peace Fund; the Colombia Peace Fund; the Multilateral Evaluation Mechanism (MEM) to measure progress in fighting illicit drugs; the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism (CICTE); and initiatives related to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives and Other Related Materials.
It is understood that the former Ambassador, who was appointed that post by then Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, is expected to return home to run as an FNM candidate in Exuma in the next general election.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
