CARICOM Secretary-General to Meet With Jamaican Government Officials

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque, is scheduled to travel to Jamaica next week for discussions with Government officials on a range of issues.

The announcement was made by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, during a post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingston on April 13.

She said that among the matters to be addressed are the recent cases involving the refusal of entry of Jamaican nationals into the twin-island republic.

“The trip by the Secretary-General coincides with these issues. It is not in respect of them but it will be a matter on the agenda for discussion,” Senator Johnson Smith said.

She informed that she has met with Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dennis Moses, to have the issues resolved.

“We’re anxious for the address of these issues that plague relations between Jamaica and Trinidad,” she told reporters.

Senator Johnson Smith urged Jamaicans, who have been refused entry into certain Caribbean nations or who have been mistreated, to lodge a formal complaint at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

“Make a formal report either at the Ministry or at the airport when you are landed. It is important that you give us the information that will help us to represent your interest and that will address the broader issue,” she said.