UK appoints new trade envoy to Ja
Published:Thursday | October 8, 2020 | 12:14 AM
British High Commissioner to Jamaica Asif Ahmad says the appointment of Darren Henry as the new trade envoy to the Commonwealth Caribbean further signals the UK’s trade and investment ambitions in the region.
The appointment was made by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and will see Henry being involved in supporting British trade and investment objectives, promoting the Commonwealth Caribbean as a great place for UK companies to do business and encourage Jamaican businesses to use the new CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement as part of their growth strategy.
“This appointment will add more momentum for businesses in both the UK and Jamaica to make the most of the opportunities that are now opening up. Food, renewable energy, music, and sports are just a few obvious sectors where there is real demand. Underpinning trade is the appetite for support that is available from financial institutions in the UK, which include Jamaican institutions in London,” said Ahmad.
“I’m also confident that Mr Henry, whose mother is Trinidadian and father a Jamaican, will bring great energy and fresh insight to this role.”
Apart from Jamaica, the Commonwealth Caribbean markets include Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Henry will also be involved in virtual engagements, including meetings with government ministers, hosting high-level visitors from Jamaica, and talking to businesses in the UK, including those belonging to the diaspora.
Country head for Department for International Trade Sharifa Powell said she is looking forward to the additional emphasis that the new trade envoy will bring to expanding trade and investment relations between Jamaica and the UK.
“By amplifying the array of commercial opportunities in the region to UK firms, Henry will play a significant role in helping us further grow the current £2.8 billion in imports and exports of goods and services with these CARICOM trading nations,” she said.