Prime Minister Andrew Holness today (May 22) welcomed the announcement by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley that his country endorses Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, for appointment as Commonwealth Secretary General.

Holness described the endorsement as quite significant, noting it was the first public endorsement of Jamaica’s candidature by a CARICOM member state.

“I am very happy with Prime Minister Rowley’s endorsement of Minister Johnson Smith. CARICOM has had the opportunity to hear and see Minister Johnson Smith in action over the last six years as she has executed her role as foreign minister within the region and I am certain they would agree that she has been, and continues to be a very strong and sage voice which would be impactful within the context of the Commonwealth,” he said.

In the meantime, Johnson Smith expressed deep gratitude for Rowley’s endorsement and said she was committed to working towards the achievement of the shared goals of the Commonwealth.

Johnson Smith is currently in St Vincent and the Grenadines as she returns from the Agri-Investment Forum in Guyana, where she met with several CARICOM heads and peers as she continues her campaign for the post of Commonwealth Secretary General.

READ: T&T backs Johnson Smith for Commonwealth Secretary General, Rowley says Scotland not a true representative of region