By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE United States has formally opened its $227m embassy in downtown Nassau, a gleaming new complex that American officials say symbolises Washington’s enduring ties to The Bahamas and its intent to deepen engagement across investment, security and diplomacy.

Kimberly Furnish, the US Chargé d’Affaires, said the five-storey facility — located beside the Supreme Court and police headquarters with views of Nassau Harbour — represents the kind of presence the relationship deserves.

“We finally have a new Embassy that fits this amazing relationship,” she said in an interview with The Tribune.

“The Bahamas and the United States have always deserved this building, and it’s for both our countries. So, you’re sitting in a $227 million dollar state-of-the-art Embassy facility in the heart of downtown Nassau.”

From the Embassy windows, the thousands of Americans streaming off cruise ships can be seen. “We are in the heart of it all,” said Ms Furnish.

The compound houses more than 100 American officers and just as many Bahamian employees. It includes 15 conference rooms, a multi-purpose hall for 150 guests, landscaped grounds for outdoor events, and artwork from Bahamian and American artists through the State Department’s Art in Embassies programme. It is also solar-powered, with excess energy supplied to surrounding communities.

“This is what this building is meant to do,” Ms Furnish said. “Bringing the public in. Whether we’re doing trade shows, whether we’re having business exchange, community involvement, cultural exchange. This is the heart of what an embassy is meant to do.”

The facility also strengthens the operational side of US-Bahamas cooperation. Ms Furnish highlighted its 24-hour command centre for OPBAT — Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos — which coordinates with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force on drug and migrant interdictions.

“This year alone, 1,300 illegal migrants were prevented from travelling,” she said. “We interrupted 176 smuggling events and intercepted 8,300 pounds of drugs. That is the success of Operation Bahamas, Turks, and Caicos with RBDF and with the US. We are literally there 24/7 and that is only growing.”

She said Washington is committed to expanding resources in this area. “There’s a strong move under this administration to ensure that the flow of migrants and drugs are intercepted, so I only see more assets, more support in that area,” she said.

Asked about criticism that Chinese state-backed projects have outpaced US involvement in The Bahamas, Ms Furnish pushed back strongly, insisting American investment is larger and more robust than many realise.

“US investment has never gone anywhere,” she said, pointing to recent projects: a $100m US-EXIM bank loan for LNG turbines, Rosewood’s $200m development in Exuma, Carnival’s $600m Celebration Key in Grand Bahama, and Royal Caribbean’s $250m project on Paradise Island.

She also cited the Western Atlantic University School of Medicine, a $50m US-backed institution in Grand Bahama, and noted that hotels like the Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar are themselves major American investments.

“I think what we could do a better job of is highlighting all of those wonderful investments because it’s happening every day,” she said. “US private investment is US investment in The Bahamas. That’s not going anywhere.”

The embassy’s opening coincides with Washington’s effort to restore a full ambassadorial presence in Nassau. The Bahamas has not hosted a US ambassador since 2011, with chargé d’affaires serving as the top envoy in the meantime.

Ms Furnish said officials are closely watching Herschel Walker’s confirmation process in Washington.

“An ambassador is a hugely symbolic and important person in the relationship between two countries,” she said. “And like The Bahamas deserves this beautiful Embassy, they deserve an ambassador, so we’re working hard to get Mr Walker here and give The Bahamas that ambassador that they deserve.”

The new embassy marks not only a larger physical footprint but a platform for more frequent cultural exchanges, business dialogues, and public functions, according to Ms Furnish. She said the embassy’s old property on Queen Street is being decommissioned and will likely be sold.

“When I came in and saw all of our employees and officers in their desk spaces and working, that’s when the building really felt alive,” she said.

“People are what really make a building. And the second-best day was the day that we opened to the public — Bahamian visa applicants coming through the doors, Americans getting passports and birth certificates. That’s what this building is here for, and that’s a beautiful thing.”