Jamaica Seeks to Indentify Bankable National Projects Under EU Global Investment Alliance

Jamaica has commenced discussions with the European Union (EU) to identify bankable national investment projects in several priority areas covered under the European Union (EU) Global Investment Alliance.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, who made the disclosure, said this is with a view to incentivising and allowing wider private-sector involvement and benefit from the potential of this valuable investment financing arrangement.

“I do want to highlight that the EU’s investment strategy under the Global Investment Alliance represents a potential game-changing strategic approach to supporting public-private sector partnerships in the development and implementation of key infrastructure projects in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which of course includes Jamaica,” she said.

The Minister was addressing the Delegation of the European Union to Jamaica Europe Day Reception 2023 on May 9, at the EU offices in Kingston.

With the upcoming third EU CELAC summit of Heads of State and Government in Brussels in July, Senator Johnson Smith said the event presents opportunities for potential impetus for a renewed focus on the strategic bi-regional partnership.

“Jamaica looks forward to the positive outcomes to be achieved at the Summit and the impact that this will certainly have in key areas such as trade and sustainable development, security, fair and green energy transition, and inclusive digital transformation,” she said.

In addition, the Minister welcomed the apparent opening of a pathway towards the signing of the long-awaited Post Cotonou Partnership agreement.

This is a partnership agreement between members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union and its Member States. It aims to promote and expedite the economic, cultural, and social development of the ACP States with a view to contributing to peace and security and to promoting a stable and democratic political environment.

“This will create a new framework for European Union development assistance and cooperation at the national and regional levels,” the Minister said.

She pointed out that this is being done in conjunction with several novel instruments to strengthen cooperation. These include the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI – Global Europe); Euroclima; the Building the Europe Link to Latin America (BELLA) programme; the EU Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Digital Alliance; and the Global Gateway Investment Agenda.

“Many exciting opportunities lie on the partnership horizon,” Senator Johnson Smith said.

She argued that given the myriad issues on the global agenda and mounting concerns regarding changes to the international security architecture, the Jamaica-EU partnership is more critical than ever before.

“Jamaica will continue to work with the EU, including within the existing partnership frameworks, recognising that regular, sustained dialogue at the highest political level is paramount. We are confident that our combined efforts will go further to ensure the achievement of sustainable development, greater socio-economic inclusion, as well as greater security and effective governance at local and national levels,” the Minister said.