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Senator the Honourable Pearnel Charles Jr. has been assigned as Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade by the Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Andrew Holness. Senator Charles was formally welcomed to the Ministry by Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in the presence of the Permanent Secretary and wider Ministry staff, on Thursday March 29.

In her remarks, Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, acknowledged Senator Charles’ accomplishments and attributes which will serve the Ministry. She recalled that “Senator Charles is not only an attorney-at-law and alumnus of both Campion College and UWI, but also brings to the job, his experience of having lived overseas for some time.”

Minister Johnson Smith said that particularly in that context, Diaspora Affairs would certainly be among the matters to which the Minister of State would be assigned, asserting that “We look forward to his support and contribution across a breadth of portfolio matters, including the ideas and energy he will bring to the Government’s initiatives aimed at harnessing the power of our Diaspora for the growth and prosperity of Jamaica.”

The Minister of State will participate in his first Diaspora event at a Townhall Meeting organized by the Jamaica Diaspora Crime Intervention and Prevention Taskforce, on Saturday, April 7 at the Jamaican Canadian Association in Toronto, Canada. He had been previously scheduled to attend the event in his former capacity.

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