PM Simpson Miller for Talks with Japanese Counterpart in T&T
By: , July 27, 2014The Key Point:
Photo: JIS
Leader of the Opposition, The Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, O.N., M.P.The Facts
- The meetings are of special significance as this year Jamaica celebrates fifty years of diplomatic relations with Japan, during which a number of activities have been planned to commemorate this important milestone both in Tokyo and Kingston.
- The meetings will provide a useful opportunity for bilateral engagement at the highest level, to continue the discussions held during the working visit to Japan conducted by the Honourable Prime Minister, November 4 - 8, 2013
The Full Story
Prime Minister the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller leaves the island today for Trinidad and Tobago for bilateral talks with H.E. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan. The meeting will take place within the context of the First Japan/CARICOM Summit to be held in Port of Spain tomorrow (Monday, 28th July)
The meetings are of special significance as this year Jamaica celebrates fifty years of diplomatic relations with Japan, during which a number of activities have been planned to commemorate this important milestone both in Tokyo and Kingston. The year 2014 has also been designated by Japan and CARICOM as CARICOM-Japan Friendship Year and also marks the 20th anniversary of the first CARICOM-Japan Consultations. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit is the first by a Japanese Prime Minister to the Caribbean.
The meetings will provide a useful opportunity for bilateral engagement at the highest level, to continue the discussions held during the working visit to Japan conducted by the Honourable Prime Minister, November 4 – 8, 2013, which paved the way for further strengthening of the bonds of friendship, cooperation, trade and investment between both countries.
Over the last twenty years, CARICOM and the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan-CARICOM Friendship and Cooperation Fund, have cooperated on issues of importance to the region’s development and integration process such as disaster management, agriculture and fisheries, environmental protection, climate change, energy, ICT, health, and other opportunities for greater collaboration and strengthening of cooperation between Japan and the Caribbean in the international economic, social and cultural areas.
The Summit also falls within the context of the Caribbean Community’s decision to prioritize and deepen foreign policy co-ordination according to the Five-Year Strategic Plan (2015 – 2019) which was recently approved at the Thirty-Fifth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government earlier this month (July 1-4, 2014) in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda.
Issues to be discussed include the particular vulnerabilities of CARICOM and necessary cooperation for the region’s sustainable growth; the strengthening of exchanges and bonds of friendship, including people-to-people exchanges, tourism; and deepening cooperation in the international arena.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller heads Jamaica’s delegation to the Summit which comprises the Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, Minister of Tourism and Entertainment; Ambassador Paul Robotham, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ms. Onika Miller, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, Her Excellency Sharon Saunders, Jamaican High Commissioner, Trinidad and Tobago and the Prime Minister’s support and security staff.
The Prime Minister and her delegation will return to the island later this evening, while Minister McNeil will represent the Government of Jamaica at the Summit tomorrow.
While the Prime Minister is away on official business, Dr. the Hon. Omar Davies, Minister of Transport, Works and Housing will be in charge of the government.