(MFA&FT: July 15, 2023)
Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, will make use of upcoming opportunities to continue to strengthen Jamaica’s engagement with bilateral and multilateral partners, in the margins of the upcoming Third European Union (EU) Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit.
Jamaica’s delegation to the EU-CELAC Summit, slated for July 17-18 in Brussels, Belgium is being led by Prime Minister the Most Honourable Andrew Holness.
“I am delighted to join Prime Minister Holness for the Third EU-CELAC Summit, which will be the first such engagement in eight years. This meeting is crucial, as it comes at a time when the EU is seeking to build and strengthen alliances with like-minded countries, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” Johnson Smith noted.
The Minister advised that she will also join Prime Minister Holness for bilateral talks with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs/Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Josep Borrell as well as the President of the Dominican Republic, His Excellency Luis Abinader.
Minister Johnson Smith will also engage in bilateral discussions with the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ms. Ylva Johansson, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, Her Excellency Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Álvaro Leyva Durán, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, His Excellency Dr. João Gomes Cravinho.
Following the conclusion of the EU-CELAC Summit, Minister Johnson Smith will lead Jamaica’s delegation to the 116th Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), also in Brussels and which will run from July 19 to 20.
