PM Golding begins high level meetings in Washington DC

Washington, DC – Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, is in the United States and will hold bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham-Clinton at the US State Department in Washington DC today.

The Prime Minister, who arrived at the Ronald Reagan International Airport in the US Capital on Sunday, was met on arrival by Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Ambassador Audrey Marks.

Prime Minister Golding will also meet with the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mr. Nayuki Shinohara and the President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Golding will deliver a lecture at the Prestigious Brookings Institute, following which he will be recognized on the floor of the United States Senate and meet with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
 
The Prime Minister will also attend a high level investor's luncheon and hold talks with Chairman of the RLJ Company, Mr. Robert Johnson and President of the Shaw Group, Mr. Jeff Jenkins.
 
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Golding will hold talks with Inter-American Development Bank President, Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno at the IDB Headquarters, after which he will officially launch the IDB-Caribbean American art exhibition which features six of Jamaica's renowned artists. On Wednesday, Mr. Golding is scheduled to meet with a number of potential investors.

Thursday, Prime Minister Golding will wrap up his four-day visit when he delivers the keynote address at the IDB's International Forum on Caribbean Investment and Development (IFCID), which provides a platform for representatives of the public sector, private sector, and non-governmental organizations to address issues affecting trade and access to finance for persons doing business in the Caribbean.  
 
Prime Minister Golding is accompanied by the Financial Secretary, Dr. Wesley Hughes; Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, Dr Gladstone Hutchinson; President of JAMPRO, Mrs. Sancia Templer; Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Christopher Zacca and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Ms. Onika Miller.
 
The Prime Minister will return to the island on Friday, June 10, 2011.

By Derrick Scott, JIS Reporter (Washington DC)