In a departure from an earlier recommendation, the Government has announced its intention to increase the number of diplomatic missions abroad.

Senator Anthony Hylton, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, disclosed in the Upper House yesterday that the ministry intended, "as resources allow", to reestablish and open several new missions in the near future. Further information would be provided on the initiative later this year, he promised.

The Foreign Affairs Minister rationalised that it was important to strengthen and streamline Jamaica's representation abroad "in order to take maximum advantage of bilateral programmes and other opportunities".

Waste in Government

In 1999 a committee chaired by businessman Douglas Orane was appointed by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to identify ways of cutting waste in Government. The committee recommended, among other things, that the Government should eliminate six embassies and high commissions. The missions targeted in the report were Moscow, Lagos, Bonn (now in Berlin), Caracas, Mexico City and Havana.

That controversial recommendation was never fully implemented, with only the embassy in Moscow being closed, while there were significant staff cuts at several others, including those in Cuba and Mexico. These moves, according to some foreign policy experts, only served to undercut the effectiveness of Jamaica's foreign trade and diplomatic efforts abroad without realising the cost-cutting benefits desired.