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Valenzuela upbeat about US-Ja relations

Published:Friday | July 30, 2010 | 12:00 AM
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From left: Vivian Crawford, executive director, Institute of Jamaica, is in stitches while Milton Samuda and Dr Carolyn Gomes get third and second place, respectively, for smiles.
From left: Christopher Zacca, director of public prosecutions Paula Llewellyn and principal of Jamaica College Ruel Reid are in a happy mood at the cocktail party hosted by the US chárge d'affaires on Tuesday.
Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn (left) is introduced to Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela (right) by US Chárge d'affaires Isiah Parnell, while Tammie Parnell looks on. - photos by Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
United States Chárge d'affaires Isiah Parnell has achieved the rare feat of making Dr Carolyn Gomes smile! Pretty smile, too.
Colonel Rocky Meade (left) has a word with Public Defender Earl Witter.
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United States Chárge d'affaires Isiah Parnell and wife Tammie hosted a cocktail party in honour of Dr Arturo Valenzuela, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, at the atrium inside the embassy located in St Andrew on Tuesday evening.

Guests from the business, legal and social communities came out to meet Valenzuela, who was on a whirlwind tour of the Caribbean region.

Following Parnell's brief welcome, Valenzuela stressed the importance of the relationship between Jamaica and the United States, telling guests that from the very outset Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Caribbean should be very important to the Obama administration's foreign policy initiatives.

"I want to make sure we work closely in that regard, particularly with top priority items security, the drug problem and the programmes with a social content," he said. He noted that crime and security are not just a police problem but there ought to be solutions that empower youth and strengthen the economic base of the country, thus providing a solution to crime problem.

"It is fundamental that we have successful countries in the western hemisphere, and to that end, donor countries have to work more in tandem with all partners and recipient countries to make that a reality."

Valenzuela will visit Barbados and The Bahamas before returning to the United States.