Departments

Political/Economic &Public Affairs

The Political Section monitors the domestic political situation, human rights, and general political, cultural, and social trends in The Bahamas. It also monitors the problem of illegal migration through The Bahamas. The section also deals with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on various UN and other regional and multilateral institutions.

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) is responsible for promoting an understanding of American society and culture between the U.S. and The Bahamas. Through a close working relationship with Bahamian educational, cultural and other institutions, PAS seeks to accomplish this by organizing workshops and lecturers by American academics and other cultural/educational leaders.

The Political Officer is also the Embassy's Public Affairs Officer. In that role, the officer handles international and domestic press inquiries, arranges photo opportunities for other sections of the Embassy and drafts press releases to promote the Embassy's activities and programs in The Bahamas. The Public Affairs Section also sponsors experts on issues important to The Bahamas to come and speak at seminars, work shops, and other meetings held here. The Office also sponsors Bahamians in the State Department's International Visitors (IV) Program to travel to the US every year to strengthen ties and improve contacts in their field of interest.

The Public Affairs Section is also an information resource for the general Bahamian public. We provide current information about U.S. Government policies, texts of policy statements by U.S. officials, and general information regarding the United States.

The Economic - Commercial Section

The purpose of the Economic-Commercial Section at the U.S. Embassy in Nassau is to promote U.S economic and commercial interests in The Bahamas. In addition, the U.S. Embassy must analyze and report to Washington on significant economic developments. To gather information and stay up-to-date, the Economic officer in this section must foster and maintain close contact with Bahamian officials on economic and commercial issues to be able to assist American companies.

To encourage Americans to do business in The Bahamas, this section of our Embassy briefs business entities of programs available through the Caribbean Basin Initiative and other U.S. sponsored government programs. In addition, the Economic-Commercial Section facilitates various conferences and trade shows to inform Americans of the wide array of opportunities available to them in The Bahamas.

For more information on the Bahamian economy, click below to view (in PDF format), the Country Commercial Guide.

Download: Bahamas Commercial Guide

In addition, the Economic-Commercial Section is also responsible for issues involving:

Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
Civil Aviation
HIV/AIDS
Environment, Science and Technology
Disaster Relief
Human Rights
Agriculture