Minister Nicholson Leaves for 7th Bienniel UK/Caribbean Forum

Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Senator AJ Nicholson, will leave the island tomorrow for St. George’s, Grenada. He leads the Jamaican delegation to the Seventh Meeting of the United Kingdom (UK)/ Caribbean Forum, under the theme "Sustainable Growth Towards Prosperity".

Accompanying the Foreign Minister will be Minister of National Security, the Hon. Peter Bunting, MP and other senior technical government officials, including the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry,   Ambassador Vilma McNish and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Security, Dianne McIntosh.

The officials will represent Jamaica at the two day (Jan 20-21) Forum which is considered the principal vehicle for political dialogue between the UK and the countries of the Caribbean, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

The Agenda for this year’s biennial Forum has been organised around three main sub themes: Economic Resilience, Security and the Environment.

Held at the level of Foreign Ministers, the Meeting is co-chaired by the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague and the Chair of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, Foreign Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Other important meetings to be held on the margin of the Forum will include a bilateral meeting between Minister Nicholson and Foreign Secretary Hague; a Trade and Investment Event, including private sector representatives from both the U.K. and the Caribbean, along with organisations such as JAMPRO the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA), the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce and their UK counterparts.

The Action Plan of outcomes which should be drafted at the tail end of the Meeting will outline decisions taken and the plan of action for future and further engagement.

The delegation is expected to return on Monday, January 23.