Minister of Industry, Investment and Trade, Senator Aubyn Hill (left), greets the High Commissioner for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to Jamaica, Deryck Lance Murray (right), during the Doing Business with Jamaica trade mission at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on November 21st. Looking on (second from left) are Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) President Tricia Coosal and Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon. (Photo: Michael Sloley)
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A delegation of 17 companies from the twin island republic of Trinidad and Tobago is now in Jamaica on a trade mission.
According to an announcement on Monday, the four-day visit of companies, which includes construction, food and beverage, logistics, packaging and printing, chemicals and other sectors, is part of an effort to expand and promote bilateral export trade. between States.
Minister of Industry, Investment and Trade, Senator Aubyn Hill, who welcomed the trade mission at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston on Monday, noted that Jamaica is a great place to do business.
He said business confidence is at an all-time high, at 18.3 points in the latest business confidence report, the single highest level in 20 years.
The minister cited Jamaica’s economic growth rate, as well as a trainable workforce, as key factors attracting investment.
He noted that the economy grew by 8.2 percent in the last fiscal year and for the second fiscal quarter, which ends in September, the country recorded a growth of 4.8 percent.
“We are training to make sure that when you come to invest, you have good people working for you. We have… 1.5 million people in the Kingston, Portmore, St Catherine area who speak English, very young and trainable, will be trained and are being trained,” he added.
“So we have the workforce you can work with; we have a growing economy; we have the fact that people are being hired. Before the pandemic, at the end of 2019, we had 43,000 people employed in the business processing outsourcing (BPO) sector. Now we have over 55,000 and we are growing quite fast,” he further noted.
Minister Hill said the central bank and stock exchange of Jamaica are also well respected.
“This is a place we are very happy for Trinidadians to come,” he said, adding that a team from Jamaica will soon go to the twin island and the Dominican Republic.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Trinidad and Tobago, Paula Gopee-Scoon, called for deepening relations between Caribbean countries.
“We must continue to make these relations unbroken and strengthen the bond between us in all ways, including business…. We must trade with each other; we need to be complementary in the trade we do to ensure that trade benefits both parties,” she said.
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA), Tricia Coosal, said the purpose of the visit is to “strengthen relationships”.
“TTMA always sees Jamaica as [one of] our most valued trading partners in the region; however, we will all agree that this relationship is much more than trade. Today, it has expanded its tentacles to include investment, tourism and even cross-cultural mixing,” she said.
She noted that Jamaica offers many investment and business opportunities as a result of its geographic location, legal framework, economic stability and infrastructure.
“The country has been identified as one of the fastest growing economies in the Caribbean. An examination of overall trade statistics between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago shows that trade between the two countries has been steadily improving over the years.
“Different goods are exported to Jamaica from various sectors in Trinidad and Tobago, such as food and beverage, construction, printing and packaging. Statistics also show positive growth in trade in goods and services from Jamaica, as well as investment flows, also in T&T over the past two years,” she noted, indicating that she hopes the discussions, over the next four days, will be fruitful and will turn into partnerships and joint ventures.
