Mayor of Hartford to Lead Delegation to Jamaica

The Mayor of the city of Hartford in Connecticut, Eddie Perez, is to lead a 30-man trade delegation to Jamaica in November of 2007.
Mayor Perez said the mission would look at investment opportunities, cultural exchange and trade.
Addressing the Greater Hartford Cultural and Trade Fair 2007, at the Bushnell Park, downtown Hartford on June 9, he stressed that the trade mission was very important to Hartford, as “we would like to have discussions with representatives of Air Jamaica to convince them to start flying out of Hartford, as there is enough tourism related business in Hartford that will justify the airline’s operating out of that gateway.”
Caribbean nationals as well as Jamaicans residing in Hartford have expressed a desire to fly the national airline out of Bradley’s International Airport, rather than flying out of New York or connecting in Philadelphia. The Mayor said that with the increasing number of Jamaicans residing in Hartford, there was great demand for Jamaican products, therefore, Air Jamaica should consider operating cargo flights to accommodate this demand.
Mayor Perez said that Jamaica was very important in Hartford’s vision for Caribbean trade.
Jamaica’s Consul General to New York, Dr. Basil K. Bryan endorsed the efforts of Mayor Perez to lead the trade delegation to Jamaica.
He pointed out that there were several investment opportunities available in Jamaica that members of the business community could explore, including tourism, agriculture, real estate, information technology, the music industry, among others. Andrew Lawrence, President of the Caribbean Trade Council, organizer of the Trade Fair and Investment Seminar, explained that the main aim of the council “is to promote trade and economic opportunities between metro Hartford regional district and the Caribbean islands.”
The Jamaica Tourist Board and Air Jamaica were among the 30 entities with booths at the fair.
An investment seminar entitled, ‘Investing in the Caribbean’, was staged at Hartford City Hall on Sunday, June 10. Jamaica Tourist Board Sales Manager for the northeastern USA, John Woolcock gave a wide ranging overview of the various investment opportunities that are now available in Jamaica.