Jamaica signs cultural agreement with UAE

ABU DHABI, CMC – Jamaica has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that will see both countries working towards developing a cultural cooperation agreement.

The MOU was signed by Culture Minister Olivia Grange and her counterpart from the UAE, Noura Al Kaabi, on the margins of the UAE-Caribbean Cooperation Forum now underway here.

“I look forward to the development and outcome of this agreement,” said Grange who added that the initial talks focused on music and food.

“We discussed the impact of Jamaica’s music… as Minister said. ‘Who does not know of Jamaica’s Reggae music all over the world?’ We spoke about our food, particularly jerk (meats) and our coffee,” she added.

The UAE-Caribbean Forum is bringing together more than 100 government and business leaders from the UAE and the Caribbean to discuss cooperation in several areas including culture, tourism, finance and investment.

The Jamaican delegation included Grange,  Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamina Johnson Smith.

The forum ended on Monday.

At the conclusion of the Forum, Grange traveled to Mauritius where UNESCO will consider and make a decision on Jamaica’s application to put Reggae music on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.