Gov’t entreats J’cans overseas to invest in country
Published:Saturday | May 7, 2022 | 12:08 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
The Government has renewed an appeal to Jamaicans in the diaspora to invest in their homeland.
“We want to bring the diaspora here for business. We want our Jamaicans to see Jamaica as a destination for business,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness said during yesterday’s launch of the Jamaica 60 Diaspora Conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
He said the Government wants to engage the diaspora in investment, as the country pushes to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
An estimated three million Jamaicans are in the diaspora and the prime minister said that, when members think of places to deploy capital, Jamaica should be in the top five destinations.
“Our capital markets are doing very well, leading the region. Real estate is doing very well, leading the region. Business process and knowledge process outsourcing, leading the region. We have opportunities in agriculture and logistics. Let us bring this massive resource in the diaspora to bear and make the investments that will cause our country to grow,” Holness appealed.
Reservoir of capital
He was supported by Senator Don Wehby, chairman of the Diaspora Conference, who noted that Jamaicans abroad were of strategic importance to the country, representing a reservoir of social and financial capital which must be optimised for national development.
He said the diaspora can play a crucial role in reducing Jamaica’s food import bill if significant investment is made in agriculture and agriculture investment.
Jamaica’s current import bill is US$1 billion, and Wehby said a target must be set to halve it.
“I strongly want to encourage my Jamaican brothers and sisters in the diaspora to invest in that sector … . We need to put those arable lands into production,” said Wehby, who is also CEO of the GraceKennedy Group.
Further, Wehby explained that, in 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, remittances grew by more than 20 per cent, an increase from $2.91 billion to $3.3 billion.
“Without the strength of our diaspora and their undying love for our country, we could have faced a balance of payment challenge,” the chairman said.
Wehby said 5,000 participants will be targeted for the hybrid conference, which will be held June 14-16, under the theme ‘Reigniting a Nation for Greatness’.
Meanwhile, Junior Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Leslie Campbell noted that the conference has been a centrepiece of the engagement and refinement of the partnerships with the diaspora.
“The establishment of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council and the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council were both deliverables of the 8th Biennial Diaspora Conference, held in June 2019. The councils were specifically designed to ensure a more inclusive and expansive relationship with the diaspora across the globe,” said Campbell, who has responsibility for diaspora affairs.
The Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference has been held since 2004 and this year’s conference is being held as one of the activities to mark Jamaica’s diamond Independence jubilee.
The legacy partners for this year’s staging are the GraceKennedy Group, Jamaica National Group and VM Group.
How to participate
To register for the conference, visit https://iteneri.com/ja60diasporaconf/event/ja60diasporaconf/show#