My Fellow Bahamians,

It has been my practice while in office to address you at the beginning of each new year so as to review the state of affairs of the international community of which we are a member and to give you an assessment of the state of affairs in our country and our prospects for the year ahead.

The dark clouds which hung over the world at the end of last year did not dissipate with the turning of the calendar. The attacks in Mumbai, India, were a rude reminder that we still face the worldwide threat of terrorism and that we must remain vigilant.

The unsettled state of affairs in the Middle East and Central Asia continues to present perhaps the greatest challenge to the maintenance of peace and stability in international affairs.

The tension between Israelis and Palestinians that has existed for half a century erupted once more into open conflict with tragic consequences, including the death and maiming of hundreds of innocents and terrible destruction of property in Gaza.

Sectarian violence continues to disrupt life in Iraq. The war in Afghanistan and along the Pakistan border has intensified as the militant religious fundamentalists have stepped up their resistance.

The meltdown in the United States that rocked the foundations of the global economic order in 2008 continues to reverberate throughout the world with profound negative impact on business, trade and employment.

On January 20th, a new administration took over the reins of power in the United States as Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President and the first American of African descent to ascend to that high office.

Having regard to the tragic history of slavery in the New World, this was indeed a moment of great significance and tens of thousands of Bahamians joined millions around the world in celebrating this hopeful new beginning.

The Government of The Bahamas looks forward to our continued excellent relations with our American friends and we wish the new President and his administration great success as they move to deal with a multitude of challenges.

Foremost among those challenges, and of greatest concern to citizens of The Bahamas and the United States, is the re-ordering of international financial affairs and the recovery of the U.S. and the world economy.

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