Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said it did not matter who won the United States presidential election as ties between the United States and The Bahamas will always remain “strong.”

Minister Mitchell congratulated Barack Obama and sent a formal congratulatory note on behalf of the government.

“The fact is that our relations are close and have always been close,” he told the Bahama Journal yesterday.

“We do not get involved in a formal sense in the back and forth of American politics, that’s not our business. The relations between the countries no matter whether Obama or [Mitt] Romney had won, we believe that the policies would be generally the same and we believe we would have been able to accommodate our selves to whatever policies the administration in Washington followed.”

Mr. Mitchell said it is now time to focus on certain issues that both countries are facing.

“Going forward, there are a number of issues we will continue to work on between the two countries – security, the economy, jobs, ensure the protection of our financial services sector and migration from Haiti and the development of Haiti so its now time to get to work,” he said.

“I would also add though that quite apart of the formal response of the government, one has to take note that his being the first African-American president also resonated in an emotional, social and cultural sense with Bahamians who are in the majority African Bahamians. I think there was reinforcement of having Obama getting a second term which is that in this Eurocentric society there is still integrity, strength and viability of people with African descent.”

Barack Obama was on Tuesday re-elected as the president of the US.

He will serve a second consecutive term after beating out Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

Just after 11:00 p.m. Tuesday President Obama was declared the winner after capturing 274 electoral votes and becoming that country’s 44th president.

Only 270 electoral votes were needed, Mr. Romney captured just 203 by that time.

According to international projections President Obama won his home state of Illinois as well as Mr. Romney’s home state of Massachusetts where the Republican previously served as governor.

He also won his opponent’s birth state of Michigan, along with New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia, according to the projections.

However, in the tight race Mr. Romney won Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah and Georgia, according to international press projections.