Jamaica has welcomed a trade delegation from Trinidad and Tobago indicating that the island is an ideal location for investments from the oil-rich twin island republic.
Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Aubyn Hill, told the trade mission headed by his Trinidad and Tobago counterpart, Paula Gopee-Scoon, that Jamaica’s business confidence is at an all-time high, up 18.3 points in the recent business confidence report, which is the single highest point level in 20 years.
The mission, comprising 17 companies spanning construction, food and beverage, logistics, packaging and printing, chemicals as well as other sectors, is part of an effort to expand and promote bilateral export trade between the countries.
The mission will be in Jamaica until Thursday and Hill cited Jamaica’s economic growth rate, as well as a trainable workforce, as major pull factors for investment.
He noted that the economy grew by 8.2 percent in the last fiscal year, and for the second fiscal quarter, which ends in September, the country recorded a growth rate of 4.8 percent.
“We are training to make sure that when you come to invest, you have good people to work for you. We have… 1.5 million people in the Kingston, Portmore, St. Catherine area that speak English, very young and can be trained, will be trained and are being trained.
“So, we have the workforce that you can work with; we have an economy that is growing; we have the fact that people are being employed. Before the pandemic, at the end of 2019, we had 43,000 people employed in the BPO sector. We now have upwards of 55,000 and growing quite fast,” he added.
Minister Hill said Jamaica’s central bank and stock exchange are also well respected, noting “this is a place that we are very happy that Trinidadians are coming,” he said, adding that a mission from Jamaica will be heading to the twin-island republic as well as the Dominican Republic soon.
Gopee-Scoon, called for a deepening of relationships among Caribbean countries.
“We must continue to make these relations seamless and to tighten the connectivity between us in all ways, business included. We must trade with each other; we must be complementary in the trade that we do to ensure that trade benefits both sides,” she said.
CMC/
