Jamaica's top diplomats meet in Kingston amid 'period of geopolitical uncertainty'

Heads of Jamaica’s diplomatic and consular missions are meeting in Kingston this week with the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade amid a "period of geopolitical uncertainty", the ministry says.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith says the meeting is designed to ensure the country's representatives abroad

"are pulling in the same direction, to advance Jamaica’s ambitions while ensuring the country is as prepared as possible to meet developments in an unpredictable world".

“This week of strategic review and planning forms part of the Government’s deliberate efforts to better position Jamaica’s foreign policy for the shifting economic and geopolitical realities that are with us now and that may lie ahead,” she said in a statement on Monday.

The week-long sessions are scheduled to conclude on Friday. They will be led by Minister Johnson Smith, Minister of State Alando Terrelonge, and Permanent Secretary Ambassador Sheila Sealy Monteith, will include engagements with various Cabinet ministers.

Last month, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness said Jamaica must prioritise economic independence and strategic statecraft in a "new era of diplomacy”.

“It's a new era of diplomacy. It's a new era of geopolitics,” he said at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s 21st Regional Investments & Capital Markets Conference in St Andrew. "We are in the midst of a highly unsettled geopolitical and geo-economic environment... where trade relationships are being reshaped, where strategic disputes have intensified and even long-standing alliances are under strain".

That address comes amid heightened international attention on geopolitical shifts in CARICOM and the wider Americas, including the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by United States forces.

In her statement Monday, Minister Johnson Smith said this week's consultations will allow heads of mission to brief the ministry on major developments across the globe and strengthen coordination on advancing Jamaica’s international interests.

Johnson Smith noted that this model of collaboration has been effective during crises, citing the response to Hurricane Melissa, where missions coordinated aid from over 30 countries, including medical teams, field hospitals, and tens of millions of dollars in humanitarian and medical supplies.

The minister also highlighted the role of Jamaica’s missions in strengthening the country’s global standing, including efforts to have Jamaica removed from the European Union’s list of high-risk countries for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing deficiencies—a move that has reduced barriers for Jamaican businesses and investors.

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