The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL kvirgil@tribunemedia.net ACTING Foreign Affairs Minister Tommy Turnquest yesterday tabled an agreement between the Bahamas and Cuba, outlining the boundaries that both countries will govern. In his address to House members, Mr Turnquest said the delimitation rests on one critical concept: the boundaries express in concrete terms, the space in which the country has the right to fully exercise its sovereignty. As the process spanned many years, truly taking flight in 2005, Mr Turnquest heralded the "milestone" as putting the Bahamas at an advantage for several reasons. "It defines territory over which the Bahamas has exclusive jurisdiction that it is able to retain the approximately 100,00 square miles it considers its national waters and has acquired the full expanse of maritime space in all instances," he said. The agreement will also give the Bahamas exclusive rights over mineral and biological resources within its territory. "Further, part of the Bahamian economy is tied to the people who make a living from the resources of the sea, hence, the importance of national jurisdictions to protect and manage these fisheries resources."