Her Excellency Alma Adams returned from the Republic of Cuba on Friday, 5 August 2022, having served as a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Honourable Philip E. Davis, to deliver a personal invitation to the Cuban President, His Excellency Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, to attend the upcoming Regional Meeting for Caribbean Heads of Government to be co-hosted by the Government of The Bahamas and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nassau from 16-18 August 2022.

Ambassador Adams conveyed the strong commitment of Prime Minister Davis to bringing Caribbean Heads together to deliberate on a strategic way forward for Small Island Developing States of the region as they prepare for the UNFCCC’s 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) scheduled to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7-18 November 2022.

In the meeting held with His Excellency Salvador Valdez Mesa, the Cuban Vice-President, the Vice-President remarked that, among several critical matters before the president, including the current energy challenges being experienced in Cuba, the President had to remain in-country at this time. The Vice-President welcomed the initiative by The Bahamas to debate and coordinate regional efforts on the issue of climate change, given its critical importance to the Caribbean region.

Special Envoy Adams thanked the Vice-President for the meeting and for conveying the personal invitation to the President. She recognised the excellent relations between The Bahamas and Cuba. Having lived in Cuba herself for nearly five years, the former Ambassador of The Bahamas to the Republic of Cuba stated that she felt a special affinity to Cuba, which will always be special to her.

The Vice-President reiterated that climate change remained one of the greatest threats to the region and reaffirmed the commitment of the Republic of Cuba in the fight to confront climate change challenges. He reassured Special Envoy Adams of Cuba’s participation in the meeting with a high-level delegation headed by Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz.

7 August 2022

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service

Commonwealth of The Bahamas