Heads of Mission Urged to Mobilise Partnerships Aligned With Reconstruction Agenda

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has urged Jamaica’s Heads of Mission to mobilise partnerships aligned with national reconstruction priorities which will be led by the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA).

“Each mission should identify at least two priority sectors aligned with our reconstruction agenda, and pursue structured, measurable engagements in those areas. Engagement and partnership must move from concept to capital flows,” Dr. Holness instructed.

The Prime Minister gave the call to action during an address to the diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Downtown Kingston, on February 11.

The Prime Minister pointed out that many of Jamaica’s diplomats are posted in countries which are advanced in building climate resilient infrastructure and these relationships can be leveraged to advance Jamaica.

“We need to understand what they do and how they do it and whether or not they would be willing to share their learnings and resources, and partner with us…and this will be done primarily through NaRRA,” he explained.

NaRRA, which was established in response to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, will embed resilience, climate adaptation, and sustainability into national recovery efforts.

Dr. Holness noted that key areas for collaboration include climate-smart housing and renewable energy and storage.

“Renewable technology is becoming more accessible. We’d love to have greater partnerships to do this at scale… I think there is a growing industry in the household renewable [sector], but we need now industries that will look at taking entire communities off grid. These are things we can pursue,” he outlined.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the global economy is in the midst of profound structural change, with supply chains shifting, investments diversifying, digital and green transitions accelerating and new production corridors emerging, and Jamaica must embrace these changes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Holness emphasised the importance of strengthening Jamaica’s security and regional cooperation.

He stated that transnational crime, narcotics trafficking, the illicit flow of weapons, cyber threats, and organised criminal networks, undermine economic independence and erode investor confidence.

“Our missions must prioritise structured cooperation on intelligence sharing, maritime security, border management, financial crime enforcement, and we must look seriously at capacity-building partnerships,” the Prime Minister noted.

Pointing to the experience of Hurricane Melissa, Dr. Holness emphasised that Jamaica must be deliberate in building capacity.

“When Hurricane Melissa struck, there was an immediate need for airlift capabilities… we were really short on airlift capacity… we just didn’t have the airlift capability to move the relief supplies and the emergency services as timely and as quickly as we would want. It is our standing partners…who provided significant airlift capabilities,” he shared.

While he expressed gratitude to the partners that stepped in to support Jamaica with airlift, the Prime Minister noted that the experience underscored that Jamaica must make the capital investment in its own capabilities.

“We need to equip ourselves and we need to have multiple partnerships so that if one can’t come, we know we can rely on another,” Dr. Holness said.

He emphasised that capacity building is critical, as weather events and other shocks become more intense, more frequent and sometimes overlap.

The Prime Minister told Jamaica’s Heads of Mission to pursue partnerships that involve some understanding on supporting each other if emergencies were to occur.

He noted that areas for collaboration include “intelligence sharing and developing intelligence capabilities” and “dealing with organised criminal activities and transnational crime”.

“There are countries who may want to train with our forces, and we may want to train with them. There are countries that have specific capabilities in equipment and technology that we don’t have…that we could secure partnerships in getting our personnel trained, particularly in cyber, which is absolutely critical. So, these are areas that I would want you to pursue,” Dr. Holness added.