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Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has noted the recent statements by Opposition Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Lisa Hanna on the negotiated settlement of 49% shares owned by PDV Caribe in Petrojam and on relations with Venezuela in that context.

In a statement this afternoon, Minister Johnson Smith said that regrettably, the statement reflected a lack of comprehension of several facts. She said, “There has absolutely been no “about turn” or “back pedalling” in the policy of the Government of Jamaica on the intended process towards taking control of the 49% shares in Petrojam. It remains the pursuit of a legislative process while remaining open to negotiations in parallel given the urgency of the matter.”

Minister Johnson Smith said that this had not only been explained to Jamaica’s Venezuelan counterparts, but had also been part of the first public announcement of the Government’s intent on January 8th 2019.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said she was herself quite perplexed at the concern expressed by Ms. Hanna regarding the tabling of the Bill on the last sitting of Parliament, when the Member of Parliament was present in Parliament for the reading and approval of the usual “Continuance Motion”, which is passed to preserve the legislative agenda from one Parliamentary Year to the next. She explained that the urgency of the matter required that it not be delayed by another week, and this would certainly have been borne out by the indication that the Bill will be taken in the House on 19th February, although it is unusual for sittings to be held between the formal opening and the opening of the budget debate.

The Minister also expressed surprise and indeed concern at Ms. Hanna’s apparent lack of understanding of the degenerating geopolitical circumstances which threaten Petrojam’s operations and the reality of those circumstances and the potential impact on Jamaica speak for themselves. She said the proximity of the timing of the OAS vote was indeed unfortunately close to the announcement made in January, but as it only complicated the Government’s efforts, she fails to understand why the Opposition Spokesperson insists on asserting that they were somehow coordinated.

The Minister re-iterated that the vote taken at the OAS was consistent with Jamaica’s position on certain fundamental principles enshrined in the Charter of the organization, as well as the Inter-American Democratic Charter to which all OAS states have subscribed. Jamaica has remained consistent in its principled position on these issues.

Johnson Smith further stated that, “the Government of Jamaica has continuously taken a very sensitive and cautious approach to the very complex issues directly affecting the people of Venezuela, as well as our bilateral relations with that country. In this and other very complex matters, the Government has exercised the kind of diplomacy that has given rise to its many international and regional leadership roles and
successes over the last three years – the kind of diplomacy that promises to continue to serve both Jamaica and global partners well”’.

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