Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, is set to attend the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting (CTMM) which will take place from June 5-6 in the United Kingdom.
Expressing her anticipation for the gathering, Minister Johnson Smith said that she is “looking forward to the CTMM as it marks the first in-person gathering since 2019 and presents an excellent opportunity for Jamaica and other Small-Island Developing States (SIDS) to leverage Commonwealth relationships to enhance trade and investment in a complex global environment.”
The Minister further advised that Trade Ministers will deliberate on topics such as Inclusive and Sustainable Trade addressing climate change and trade, as well as the New economic frontier of the digital economy. She underscored the growing importance of these areas for Jamaica, stating that “Jamaica has made strong recent advancements, including the appointment of a Skills and Digital Transformation Minister and the successful implementation of the JAM-DEX digital currency and the Jamaica Trade Information Portal (JTIP), among others.”
Reiterating Jamaica’s commitment to a transparent, inclusive, fair, and rules-based multilateral trading system, Johnson Smith said that, “The opportunity to exchange views with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), will add another level of richness to our discussions, given our drive to improve the participation of developing countries in global trade.”
Following the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting, Minister Johnson Smith will join Prime Minister Holness at a Meeting of CARICOM Heads with United States Vice-President Kamala Harris on June 8 in The Bahamas. Leaders from the Caribbean and the United States of America will discuss various matters, including regional security, climate change as well as food and energy security.
