Above: Bahamian Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (BIS Photo/Derek Smith)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Bahamas and China strengthened their already-close relations in a meeting this week in Nassau.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with Governor General Sir Athur Foulkes and Prime Minsiter Hubert Ingraham, along with Minister of National Security (and acting Foreign Minister) Tommy Turnquest at Nassau’s Balmoral Club.

Turnquest said Yang’s visit “further underscores the strong bond of friendship and cooperation that exist[s] between China and the Bahamas.”

“We owe a great deal of gratitude to the government of the People’s Republic of China for the assistance it has provided to the Bahamas in many different areas,” he said. “As a nation, we are deeply appreciative of China’s continued confidence in the Bahamas.”

The two countries have worked together on a series of projects in recent years, from the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, the gateway project at Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport and the multibillion-dollar Baha Mar development on Cable Beach.

Yang’s visit followed that of Wang Qishan, vice premier of China’s State Council, last month.