Jamaica Seeking to Learn from Business Club Australia Initiative

Jamaica, through its investment company, JAMPRO is seeking to maximize the benefits from the region’s staging of the 2007 Cricket World Cup and hopes to learn from the Business Club Australia initiative, which is the official business promotion and facilitation agency behind next year’s Melbourne Commonwealth Games.
Business Club Australia: Melbourne 2006, is seeking to use the excitement and world attention generated by the Commonwealth Games to deliver unparalleled business opportunities to Australian and international companies, through business matching, strategic meetings and networking events.
The club was launched recently at JAMPRO’s offices in Kingston and Development Minister, Dr. Paul Robertson in his remarks, said that in addition to the advantage of new business opportunities, “what we are launching.is something we seek to emulate for Cricket World Cup 2007.”
Operated by the Australian government’s trade comission, Austrade, in partnership with Invest Australia, Business Club Australia started around the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and continued for the Rugby World Cup 2003.
“The Australian business club concept was very successful at the Sydney Olympics and we are going to learn from your example as we will be launching our Caribbean Business Club in Melbourne 2006,” Dr. Robertson said.
While encouraging local business people to join the club as a vehicle to expand their business linkages, Dr. Robertson, in turn challenged the Australian delegation to lend support for the Caribbean Business Club.
“We look forward to Australia supporting our business club initiative next year and to be an active player in our global network of trade and investment partnership,” he stated.
The Minister added that, “as we prepare for our legacy, we would like to believe that the lessons you have learnt.you are willing to share as well as your understanding of the process, and that as friends, we can share together as members of the Commonwealth,” Dr. Robertson said.
Speaking with JIS News, Ian Wing, Regional Director for the Americas of the Australian Commission stated that, “of course Jamaica will be sending teams to Australia and we are very keen to use the games as a platform for building ties and commercial relationships between Australian and Jamaican businessmen.”
“Not only that,” he continued, “but in 2007, Jamaica is going to be hosting the Cricket World Cup and so we think there is going to be a continuous platform for building that commercial relationship.”
Patricia Francis, President of JAMPRO in welcoming her Australian counterparts said that, “we are very happy to have the members of Austrade here because we recognize what they have been through is going to be for us, our way forward in 2007”.
She added, “we are going to try to upstage the Australians in our business model for our business club, so you can look forward to a little innovation when Minister launches it in Australia in 2006.”