Is there anything particularly interesting or surprising you have observed about your time in the capital so far?

London is a well-organised and traditional city, and it is good to experience its rich history, which is well preserved and celebrated.

Can you tell me about your family and upbringing? Do you think it influenced your choice of career in accountancy and now diplomacy?

I am the second of six children to Bahamians Patrick and Jeanie Gomez, and I have five siblings, one brother (Craig Tony), who is older by eighteen months, and four younger sisters (Nickola, Nathalie, Michelle and Lisa). Thank God my parents are still alive – both are 85 years of age.

From a very early age our working-class parents stressed the importance of education, hard work and respect for others. They had a significant impact on my choice of career.

My siblings and I are quite fortunate that we all had an opportunity to attend college: my brother and I are both chartered accountants, my sister, Nicola, is a computer programmer and she is also the incoming President of Pilot International (Global). Nathalie and Lisa studied business, and Michelle is a Chemical Engineer.

I previously served as Managing Partner for Grant Thornton, a company of chartered accountants and management consultants, for almost 20 years, prior to being appointed The Bahamas’ Ambassador to China in December 2015.

In November 2019 my firm merged with my brother’s firm, the Bahamas member firm of Baker Tilly International, also a top ten global accounting and consulting firm.

I should note that at home with our parents, we were always taught to be respectful of everyone, consequently, diplomacy has come naturally to me.

How will your experiences of a lengthy career in accountancy and management assist you in the role that you have today?

As a profession, accountancy is about structure, organisation, principles, accurate reporting and credibility. These qualities are also the foundations of effective diplomacy, even though it is an entirely different discipline that requires teamwork with diplomatic experts. In the corporate world, management is about advancing the affairs of an individual company or organisation, however, diplomacy refers to managing the affairs of a country.

What were the major issues that you dealt with as the Bahamas’ Ambassador to China (2015-17)?

During my time in China, there was a heavy emphasis on promoting business relationships between the host country and The Bahamas. At the time, before the COVID pandemic, China had a significantly larger diplomatic and economic global footprint, and a powerful positive impact on The Bahamas’s number one industry, tourism.

To place this in context, the two major hotels in the Bahamas were financed and built by the Chinese: Bahama, which is considered a mega hotel that operates three top-shelf global hospitality brands on its massive beachfront property: Rosewood, SLS and Grand Hyatt. (Grand Hyatt has the largest casino floor in the Caribbean). Also, China Construction America built the state of the art The Pointe Hotel, which operates the world-famous Margaritaville brand.

During my posting as Ambassador to China, The Bahamas’ Embassy was quite active in areas of business, culture, education and social outreach. I also met many interesting people from the diplomatic, business and cultural arenas in China, and was essentially able to glean a better understanding of key operational and strategic mechanisms of global business. I was recalled after a change in government in May 2023.

What are your main plans and priorities for your role as High Commissioner in the UK?

Our primary focus in the UK is to maintain and strengthen diplomatic ties between our two countries, and our second objective is to promote stronger commercial ties in areas of education, culture, finance, agriculture, light assembly and tourism.

The Bahamas is essentially a service-based economy, and it is important for Bahamian high commissions and embassies around the world to explore potential synergies in industries and economic disciplines that strengthen and educate The Bahamas.

The Bahamas is proud to be a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and my experience is that the Commonwealth Secretariat contains some smart people, starting with Secretary General Baroness Patricia Scotland. Also, there are some youth and nature-based initiatives being developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat that seem almost tailored to address some of the challenges faced by The Bahamas. We are grateful to be independent, yet also belonging to global organisation of 56 countries.

In the run up to COP28, what climate issues are on the agenda for The Bahamas?

The Bahamas has considerable experience dealing with natural disasters like hurricanes, and we are constantly devising plans and strategies to mitigate the loss from deadly hurricanes that impact all Bahamians.

As a small country, The Bahamas continues to follow best practices regarding climate change, and our Prime Minister, The Hon. Philip Brave Davis, has spoken extensively, and internationally, in support of global initiatives to address climate change.