More

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), Reginald Budhan, says the ministry has intensified its programme to get laboratories accredited, and business stakeholders certified with the International Standards Organization (ISO). This is to ensure that products being exported meet the stipulated standards of the countries for which they are intended, Mr. Budhan said. He was speaking...

State Minister for Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Michael Stern, has welcomed the 'I am the Change' programme stating that it will help to develop an entrepreneurial culture among the nation’s youth. The initiative, which was launched on Wednesday, April 20 at the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) offices in New Kingston, is aimed at empowering and preparing selected secondary level...

Governments in the region have a critical role to play in providing an appropriate environment for the development and growth of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, says Minster of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Michael Stern. "This is particularly important at this time when Governments throughout the Caribbean are increasingly recognising the significant...

Programme Director of the Planned Development Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Mrs. Leila Palmer, has cited the need for structural and cultural changes within the public sector if that body is to play a relevant and meaningful role in positioning Jamaica as the place of choice to live and do business. Speaking at the Jamaica Customer Service...

Jamaica could become the business and industrial hub of the Caribbean and the Americas, thanks to the opportunities presented under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), signed recently between CARIFORUM States and the European Union (EU). Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Ken Baugh, outlined a massive vision of economic growth and development for the island, to be stimulated...

The Government is having discussions with several multi-lateral agencies, to determine how best they can assist Jamaica to benefit from a wide range of resources available to enhance the country's capacity for development. This was pointed out by Finance and Public Service Minister, Audley Shaw, at the opening of a two-day International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)/Organization of...

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet Assamba, has appealed to students to make use of every educational opportunity to prepare for a productive future and to contribute to the country's development. The Minister, who was addressing the annual Youth Tourism Awareness Conference where she spoke on the topic: 'Tourism and Me,' told the students to consider what their lives...

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet Assamba has said that with new and powerful trading blocs emerging in Europe, China and the Americas, Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean had no option but to adopt new and responsive regional measures to ensure their survival and competitiveness. Mrs. Assamba pointed out that due to the process of globalization, the...

The first of four stakeholder consultations to give micro and small business operators in Kingston, Portmore and surrounding communities an opportunity to get vital information on how to access credit, was held at the Portmore HEART Academy on August 29. Michelle Scott, Chairman of the Research Committee, a sub-committee of the National Organizing Committee of the International Year of Micro...

Some 20,146 loans valued $670.5 million, were made to the micro and small business sectors during the 2004/2005 financial year, leading to the creation of some 12,675 new jobs. Industry and Tourism Minister Aloun Ndombet Assamba, who made the announcement yesterday (July 27), said the figure represented a 27.6 percent increase over the number of loans in the previous year...

Minister of Industry and Tourism, Aloun Ndombet-Assamba has said the Government was fully supportive of the awareness-building activities of the International Year of Micro Credit, and was committed to ensuring that the activities for the year went beyond promotion, to producing sustainable outcomes for micro entrepreneurs. Mrs. Assamba was making a statement on the International Year of Micro Credit in...

Strong representation is being made at several levels for an extension of the implementation date to meet the requirements under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), for Americans travelling to Jamaica to hold passports for re-entry to the United States as of January 2006. This was noted by Industry and Tourism State Minister, Dr. Wykeham McNeill during his contribution to...