Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, Head of the EU Delegation, Ms. Diana Acconcia and her team from the European Commission Mr. Percival Marie, Director General, CARIFORUM Directorate Representatives of the CARIFORUM Member States; Ladies and Gentlemen As CARIFORUM High Representative for the CARIFORUM/EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), I welcome you all here to this 6th Technical Meeting of the CARIFORUM/EU Trade and...

I extend sincere congratulations to Donald J. Trump on being elected President of the United States of America. He joins a select group of men who have attained the distinction of becoming Leader of the Free World. This job carries with it an awesome responsibility, as the President of the United States has a major influence on global affairs. Donald...

The Jamaica Customs Agency takes note of the Sunday Observer article dated October 30, 2016 which raised concerns about the Customs Administrative Fee (CAF) and the Automated System for Customs Data, ASYCUDA World, which had incomplete and in some instances incorrect information. The article made note of the approved Cabinet Decision #29/13 which was implemented by the Agency. These included...

Mr. Speaker, the Banking Services Act permits a Deposit Taking Institution with the approval of the Supervisory Committee, to appoint an agent through which one or more of the banking services listed in that Act, will be offered. The objective is to allow a widening of banking access channels beyond existing Deposit Taking Institutions’ branch networks and electronic access channels...

This Honourable House is asked to note that a Cabinet Submission is to be tabled to pass new Plea Bargaining Legislation in Jamaica. The principle of Plea Bargaining is a time honoured common law tradition and has been utilized in many jurisdictions to reduce the caseload of the Courts; have offenders take responsibility for their actions, which is an important...

Fellow Jamaicans: Recent developments over the past 24 hours have once again fuelled a national discussion on the justice system.I assure you that this Government views justice as a priority. We are even more determined to fix the ailing system with a sense of urgency. We know that there is no quick fix for the justice system. However, we have...

Let me thank everyone who contributed to making the Salute to our Rio Ambassadors such a resounding success. The feedback received indicates that our Olympic and Paralympic teams appreciated the celebratory events and the monetary awards, which represent mere tokens of the appreciation of a proud and grateful nation. We do not resile from our decision to celebrate our Olympic...

A formal statement outlining discussions to date between Jamaica and the twin-island republic of Trinidad and Tobago will be presented to the Senate soon. This was disclosed by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, while responding to questions posed by Opposition members regarding relations between the two countries, at yesterday's (October 14) sitting...