It’s been two years since the previous envoy jetted home, however, newly minted Dominican Republic Ambassador to Jamaica Angie Martínez Tejera is eager to cement collaborative ties between the two island nations. 

Ambassador Martínez, speaking exclusively with Our Today at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic on Hope Road, said it was a lifelong dream to visit Jamaica—though she never expected her arrival would be as a stateswoman. 

“I’m in love with Jamaica! I always was very excited about coming to this country but I never imagined to be coming as ambassador. It’s a great honour and a real pleasure to be appointed as Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Jamaica because I admire a lot of its culture as the land of Claude McKay, Usain Bolt and Bob Marley,” she gushed.

“I’m excited to be here, I want to [say] thanks for all the warm welcome I’ve received, and my beloved family, since our arrival. I feel so [good] and at home,” Ambassador Martínez contended.

The international lawyer-turned-diplomat, born in May 1978, in the capital Santo Domingo, said there are many similarities between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Among them, pristine white sand beaches, vibrant peoples, world-celebrated cultures and an enviable tourism product. 

Months away from the 57th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, this December, Ambassador Martínez expressed great potential for the two countries to deepen those ties. 

She told Our Today that her government sees several key areas of interest and collaboration as well as exchanges of ideas on economic recovery post-coronavirus (COVID-19), tourism, national security, climate change, education, commercial cooperation and poverty reduction. 

“We have had 57 years of diplomatic relations [with] Jamaica; we have been good friends and allies in those times and we have a very strong bilateral relation but I’m looking for [greater] exchange to make us closer and develop a big agenda on collaboration. Also to create a fair and reciprocal commercial exchange,” she said.

“It is the vision of our President Luis Abinader and Minister of Foreign Affairs Roberto Álvarez, and the Caribbean is a very big part of that agenda. We are going to relaunch our relations with the Caribbean, we are a part of the Caribbean and we would like to feel more integrated, developing closer relations and we are sure, through the leadership of Jamaica in the region, we can achieve that,” the stateswoman told Our Today.

“I am convinced that the best diplomatic relations with Jamaica are ahead and I am hoping that under the leadership and the guidance of Senator [Kamina Johnson Smith], we will lead our best years of relations,” she added.

Though her first, chief ambassadorial mission, Martínez is not a stranger to diplomacy, with 17 years under her belt. She has previously represented the Dominican Republic at its embassies in Madrid, Paris, the United Nations (UN) mission in Geneva and most recently, the United States.

Martínez spoke highly of Jamaica’s political sway in the region, hoping that the country could help the Dominican Republic leverage its own position in the Caribbean. 

In the meantime, the ambassador expects to meet with Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett very soon to discuss the potential of reciprocal visits by Dominican Republic citizens to Jamaica and vice versa. 

Arguably one of the region’s few success stories amid the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Martínez said the Spanish-speaking ‘half’ of Hispaniola is looking to collaborate with Jamaica on the proposed multi-destination initiative.

Also on the envoy’s agenda are plans to properly integrate a working exchange programme for students, which she discussed briefly with Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen when presenting her credentials at King’s House on Friday (May 7). 

“In my audience with the Governor-General, he told me that some Jamaicans study in the Dominican Republic but we were talking about [further] partnering in the academic and education areas,” she explained.

“The Dominican Republic is looking forward to having a very broad and enriched collaboration [with] the University of the West Indies. We admire this university as one of the most prestigious in the region and it’s ranked [highly] around the world so we are looking to partner to do seminars, webinars and research in common areas. We know [UWI] has been doing research on water management and we would like to know about those [studies] and be part of them,” the ambassador continued, adding that the Dominican Republic is also keen to learn from UWI on solid waste, engineering, law and advocacy, among other areas.

Martínez said she has a meeting with presidents of the top universities in the Dominican Republic, all of which have expressed an interest in developing an exchange programme for Jamaican students to study as well as for Dominicans to do the same at UWI. 

• Related article: Jamaica opens arms to first female Dom Rep envoy in over a decade

Another key interest of trade comes in the form of language, as while Jamaica works on making Spanish more widespread, the Dominican Republic would do the same with English.

“We also want to partner on the exchange of languages. English and Spanish are two of the most important languages of the world, and because both countries depend on tourism, we need to ensure our people have capacity. Governor-General [Sir Patrick] was very interested in that part, he said he wanted Jamaica to have Spanish as a second language so we have to work on that and [the Dominican Republic] will benefit having better English in our country at all levels,” Martínez told Our Today.

Still, all these achievements would pale in comparison to Ambassador Martínez’s greatest goal – human welfare – as she would like to have used her mission to help less fortunate Jamaicans however she can.

“My greatest ambition as ambassador, to be honest, I’m very interested in the well-being of people. I know we all work on important things but I would like [to see] that impact with people. I genuinely care about Jamaican people as I care about my Dominican people, so my big ambition would be that the work I do here can really impact on the development and well-being of our people,” she said.

“Of course, I would like at the end of my path here in Jamaica, I feel good with myself knowing I did my best. I always work with all my heart, and with enthusiasm in all the fields that I work and am responsible [for] because I love my country. I would like at the end of my job my people are proud of me as their representative. I would like that the Jamaican people feel proud of the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic because we can create empathy, actions that make our relations closer and integrate our people. I want, when I finish my job, I can come back to Jamaica and be loved and have people that welcome me like the first time and left good friends,” the ambassador added.