State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, says this year’s staging of the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference was a rounding success.

“I say it was a resounding success, and there are some people who thought that maybe we would not have had 200 people here. We had a record-breaking 1200 registered attendees, making it the largest, biggest, best, and most successful conference over the last 20 years,” the state minister said.

Terrelonge was speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday (June 19).

The State Minister said the success of the conference stems from a concerted effort to engage with members of the diaspora through regional conferences.

“One of the things we did in terms of planning this programme was have a series of regional conferences over the last year. There is a conference in Africa; there is a regional conference in the United Kingdom; there is a regional conference in Canada; and across the US We had a virtual conference with Western Europe led by our host ambassador in France [Olivier Guyonvarch] and also our regional Caribbean conference. These were truly historic, and the discussions coming out of the engagement with diasporans serve to form the content of the programme,” Terrelonge stated.

He said members of the diaspora are excited to capitalise on the growth and improvements Jamaica has seen over the years.

“One of the things that we are looking at coming out of this conference is developing an agriculture stock x market, where if you live in France and you know that you really want to invest in the agriculture industry but you can’t own a farm or you don’t have time to plant ackee or watch it grow, you are concerned about safety and security. How do we create an investment portal to invest in agribusiness while you can be in France, you can be in Ghana, and just watch your money grow along with the beautiful trees and foods right here in Jamaica?”

The conference seeks to connect Jamaicans and persons of Jamaican descent living across the globe, with the aim of strengthening linkages and building alliances that will fuel Jamaica’s growth and development on the world stage.

The four-day conference kicked off on Sunday, June 16, with a diaspora church service and a welcome reception.

The conference also featured plenary sessions featuring conversations with key industry players and diaspora members, excursions, tours, a keynote address by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and a diaspora marketplace.

The event culminates today with a formal luncheon event hosted by the Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen, and a special event hosted by the GraceKennedy Group.