Caption: Sen. The Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade addresses members of the diplomatic corps during Day 2 of Diplomatic Week activities held at the Ministry’s offices from February 28 -March 3.
With regard to the Foreign Trade portfolio, Johnson Smith emphasized that, “The Government is accelerating its programme to make Jamaica a mecca for trade and investment including improving the ease of opening and doing business. In support of this mandate, the Ministry will also build on the success of the Economic Diplomacy Programme.”
Diplomatic Week saw Minister Johnson Smith along with the Minister of State, Senator the Honourable Leslie Campbell and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry, meeting with resident and non-resident Heads of Mission, several of them newly accredited, as well as with heads of International Organizations. According to Johnson Smith, “This shows Jamaica’s commitment to our bilateral and multilateral partnerships. My team and I stand ready to identify and pursue new areas of mutual interest and to expand even further, our robust cooperation on established areas.” Johnson Smith also spoke to the strength of Jamaica’s multilateral engagements. She said, “For Jamaica, multilateralism is the ultimate prescription for action for small, developing countries like ours. We are also leveraging multilateral assistance geared towards the country’s sustainable development.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith said, “Jamaica values both our new and longstanding international partnerships. Our meetings this week reaffirmed our commitments on both sides, to strengthen collaboration in several critical sectors including security, renewable energy, tourism and logistics. We are pleased that we have been able to follow-up on commitments and intend to see others through to realization.”
The Foreign Ministry has held twenty-six (26) bilateral meetings with countries represented at Diplomatic Week 2023, as part of the Government’s focus on maximising the potential of international partnerships to drive Jamaica’s growth and development agenda.