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JAM | Dec 3, 2022

Jamaica pays homage to its development partners

/ Our Today

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60th anniversary of diplomatic relations with bilateral partners

Gordon House, the home of Jamaca’s Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.

Jamaica yesterday (December 2) paid homage to its international development partners, as the country commemorates 60 years of diplomatic relations with 12 sovereign nation states.

The 12 nations are the United States, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Brazil, India, Israel, Korea and the Swiss Confederation. They all established diplomatic relations with Jamaica in 1962 after the island gained Independence.

On Friday, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, made a statement in the Senate, Jamaica’s Upper Chamber of Parliament, in which she paid tribute to these nations for sticking with Jamaica over these 60 years.

“We pay tribute to these countries, which have been with us from the very beginning. Their faith in our ability to chart our own destiny and their commitment to lending support in this regard has not gone unnoticed.”

Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade

Johnson Smith acknowledged that, of the 12 named countries, nine have diplomatic missions here in Kingston – Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, South Korea, the UK and the US.

She said representatives of these foreign missions were present at the Senate, together with the Honorary Consul of Israel, while the non-resident Ambassadors of The Netherlands and Switzerland are ought to be watching the proceedings online.

“We pay tribute to these countries, which have been with us from the very beginning. Their faith in our ability to chart our own destiny and their commitment to lending support in this regard have not gone unnoticed. We salute their resolve to be a part of our journey when we were keen to assert our new found freedom and independence, and they shared our vision and determination to do so,” Johnson Smith remarked.

Forging strong ties

She reported that Jamaica continues to forge stronger ties with its development partners, particularly in the area of cultural cooperation, which has been expanding in recent years to include the creative and entertainment industries. The Senate Majority Leader stated that Jamaica hopes to maximize on the opportunities in this area to effectively archive and protect its indigenous products.

In addition, Jamaica continues to market itself as the gateway to the region for goods and services with the foreign affairs and foreign trade minister, saying the country is open and ready to do business, as the nation builds out its logistics industry, promote the island as a solid global services destination and expand its offerings as a tourist haven.

She highlighted the fact that Jamaica has benefitted tremendously from these partners in the development of its human capital through offers of scholarships, courses and training programmes.

Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade.

The governments of Brazil and Germany, for example, have provided critical support over the years to the HEART/NSTA Trust, while hundreds of Jamaicans have maximised the various opportunities afforded under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme since its inauguration in 1964.

Jamaica’s natural love for French culture and language has seen more nationals availing themselves of the opportunity to participate in the Teaching Assistant Programme, as well as to benefit from language courses and study programmes between the University of the West Indies and French Universities.

Training and trade cooperation

Similar course opportunities have also been extended by The Netherlands and Switzerland as well as study and training opportunities in Canada, the UK and the US. She mentioned that in the recently concluded Strategic Dialogue with the United States of America, America agreed that funding will be increased to support violence reduction programmes and strengthen law enforcement.

Jamaica also have a framework for structured discussions with Canada on political technical and trade cooperation and so too with Brazil and India with whom the government is hoping to convene meetings at mutually convenient dates in the near future. Earlier this year, Jamaica had its usual Political Dialogue with the EU, which allowed the country to review with Belgium France and Germany, the several layers of cooperation which both enjoy.

When it comes to cooperation in the field of health, Johnson-Smith reminded the Senate that the development partnerships moved into high gear during the COVID-19 pandemic placing on record Jamaica’s sincere appreciation of the provision of over 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the USA, UK, Canada, Germany, France and India.

Jamaica also received medical supplies and equipment from Canada, the Republic of Korea, Brazil, the USA, the UK, Germany, Israel and India, which specifically supported the covid19 response but also strengthened the resilience of our health sector

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