The coming months will see increased cooperation between Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as the region continues to move towards regional integration.
This is according to Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who hosted a joint press conference on Monday afternoon.
Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Holness – who said he was in the country to attend 60th Independence celebrations – said he supported Rowley’s criminalization as a matter of public health earlier this year.
Holness said there was a shared feeling in Jamaica, with the Government recently establishing a Violence Prevention Commission aimed at studying the issue and coordinating government responses.
He said he and Rowley had shared notes on the matter and that both governments would cooperate on responses
“In following the Trinidadian press, one of the statements that caught my attention was Prime Minister Rowley’s statement that violence is a public health issue. We have also said this in Jamaica. It is important for the public of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to understand that countries like ours, at our stage of development, our economic profile and our culture and historical factors play a role and perhaps explain why violence is so often used or is the Choice of Action for resolve conflict in our society.”
“We need to take a public health approach to looking at why violence is so prominent in our social transactions. To that end, Prime Minister Rowley and I shared notes on what our respective governments are doing… Prime Minister Rowley did something similar and we will be working more closely together on this issue, in addition to much more collaboration and information sharing to get with cross-border and transnational crime issues. On the issue of national security, I would report that we are making significant progress,” he said.
Holness added that the two countries will see cooperation in the arts and sports sectors, with young local athletes being invited to compete in Jamaican competitions.
“We also discussed the areas where we have natural talents, culture and sports, music, carnivals and athletics and agreed that we will cooperate much more closely. We will be inviting schools from (Trinidad and Tobago) to participate in our sports competitions in Jamaica,” he said.
In addition, he said that there have been discussions on increasing bilateral relations and trade, through the business registration process. He said that both sides will review the relevant legislation on this matter.
“We also talked about bilateral corporate growth in relation to our business registration process. I think this is an area that will really create an explosion in trade and commerce between our countries. There is absolutely no reason why a company registered in Trinidad and Tobago should not be noted as registered in Jamaica and when we come back we will look at our relevant legislation. Overall, I would report that apart from my visit being in recognition of the 60th anniversary of your independence and participating in your celebration, it was also designed to consolidate our cooperation,” he said.
Also speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the country intended to continue initiatives that keep, “the CSME (Caribbean Single Market and Economy) as a key element”.
He said the region was moving towards the removal of non-tariff barriers and welcomed Jamaican investment in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Caricom is receiving curious support from the largest component of the Caricom market outside of Haiti. We expect that the commitment we made recently in Suriname to remove non-tariff barriers given the energy we are now devoting and the role that non-tariff barriers play in suppressing the effectiveness of this single market and economy, we may now see some removing these things and the work is going on there and the work is going on there.”
“In terms of encouraging the movement of capital into the country, I believe that the population of Trinidad and Tobago will see Jamaican investment as welcome just as Jamaica welcomes Trinidad and Tobago investment whether in food preparation or distribution of food,” he said.
