Antony Blinken-a United States Secretary of State met with the Prime Minister of Jamaica named Andrew Holness, who is on an official visit to the USA. On Friday, April 1, 2022, both the delegations discussed various matters of concern related to the development agendas of small island nations.
Secretary Blinken expressed support for the development agenda as advanced by Jamaica and pledged the support and consideration of the United States in helping to realize Jamaica’s plans.
Moreover, the issues discussed included opportunities for partnership to make Jamaica a shining example of a prosperous as well as thriving small island democracy within the region.
Along with this, the main motive of the meeting has been explained by the delegations. The main focus of the discussion was that Antony Blinken has shared and extended his support to Jamaica after outlining the matters of exchange. He stated that the nation would focus on the following vital areas:
Investment in the human resource development capacity which will have a direct impact on Jamaica’s growth horizon.
Establishing Jamaica as a nearshore technology hub for logistics, light manufacturing, and other services.
Partnership on violence prevention through information and intelligence sharing, border protection, and cooperation to eliminate trafficking and other transnational crimes, as part of our security agenda.
Support for energy resilience and diversification in light of geopolitical developments and the potential impact on Jamaica’s economy over a sustained period.
The requirement for democracies to work together to strengthen partnerships and find meaningful ways to support each other.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica and Secretary Blinken have consented that Jamaica and the US have had a long and meaningful relationship spanning 60 years; however, it was also agreed that there were many opportunities to strengthen the relationship and build greater partnerships.
Furthermore, Andrew Holness highlighted that he is going to be using the channel of a working group to continue strategic dialogue to examine proposals for impactful support to Jamaica’s development objectives.
Earlier, the Vice President of the United States of America named Kamala Harris also held a purposeful meeting with the PM of Jamaica, Andrew Holness.
While expressing pleasure over a meeting, PM Holness noted, “This afternoon I had the distinguished pleasure of meeting with Vice President of the USA, the Honourable Kamala Harris (Kamala Harris).”
In addition, the discussion was committed to increase cooperation for the mutual benefit of Jamaica and the United States.
The areas of cooperation discussed include violence prevention through intelligence and information sharing and investment in violence reduction programme targeting at-risk youth, and human capacity development, particularly in relation to cyber security and digital technology, energy, and infrastructure.
The PM mentioned that was deeply encouraged by the feedback from VP Harris who committed funding to several areas:
1. Expansion of Commerce and Trade
2. Support for our health sector and our Covid-19 recovery efforts
3. Regional energy security
4. Violence reduction programme targeting at-risk youth
VP Harris also expressed agreement for the establishment of a working group between Jamaica & the United States to discuss issues unique to Jamaica and to continue the dialogue.
Holness extended gratitude to the VP for prioritizing this meeting with Jamaica and I welcome her announcements to provide greater support through investments.
