MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FOREIGN TRAD
2 Port Royal Street, Kington
MEDIA RELEASE
February 9, 2026
Foreign Ministry convenes meeting of Jamaica’s Overseas Heads of Missions
Heads of Jamaica’s diplomatic and consular missions will this week arrive in Kingston to engage in a week-long consultative process with the leadership of the Foreign Ministry.
Meetings of this nature are part of the established process of ensuring those charged with implementing the Ministry’s strategic objectives overseas, remain aligned with developments at home. The week-long consultations are particularly important during this period of geopolitical uncertainty and will also therefore facilitate briefings from Heads of Mission on major developments across the globe.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, says the meeting of Heads is designed to ensure diplomatic and consular missions are pulling in the same direction, to advance Jamaica’s ambitions while ensuring the country is as prepared as possible to meet developments in an unpredictable world.
“ This week of strategic review and planning therefore forms part of the Government’s deliberate efforts to better position Jamaica’s foreign policy for the shifting economic and geopolitical realities that are with us now and that may lie ahead. Our Missions are Jamaica’s bridges to the world and by bringing them together, we are strengthening our ability to be good global partners, to better secure resources for economic growth and development, and to ensure that Jamaicans at home or abroad can rely on an aligned, well-coordinated and responsive Foreign Service”, explained the Foreign Minister.
Johnson Smith says this model of coordinated action among all 20 missions has been visible in times of crisis. During the passage of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s Embassies and High Commissions coordinated assistance from more than 30 countries, resulting in the deployment of medical teams, field hospitals, search-and-rescue units, engineering crews, electricity line workers, maritime patrol vessels, and the donation of over 1,200 tonnes of fertiliser for farmers, alongside tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian and medical supplies.
Beyond emergency response, the Minister pointed to the role of Jamaica’s Missions in strengthening the country’s international standing. This includes part of the efforts to have Jamaica removed from the European Union’s list of high-risk countries for deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing regimes — a decision that has reduced barriers for Jamaican businesses and investors. This is one of several outcomes that will help shape discussions with the Ministry’s leadership on deepening economic diplomacy, expanding market access and translating credibility into investment flows and other tangible opportunities for Jamaica.
The working sessions led by Minister Johnson Smith, Minister of State Alando Terrelonge and Permanent Secretary Ambassador Sheila Sealy Monteith, as well as engagements with various Cabinet Ministers, are scheduled to end on Friday, February 13. The consultations are expected to equip Heads of Mission with operational commitments to guide them in the coming period.
