KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Business executives from the United Kingdom (UK) are concluding a three-day trade mission visit to Jamaica, expressing optimism about the opportunity to foster trade expansion and commercial ties.
The mission sought to deepen UK-Jamaica commercial collaboration and to identify new opportunities that can be leveraged for the advancement of both countries.
Adam Connor, Regional Director at Northern Consortium United Kingdom (NCUK), which develops tertiary education programs worldwide, said he hopes that Jamaica will become the 42nd country to forge a partnership with the company.
“We’re currently in 41 countries with 130 partners who teach our programs. The programs give guaranteed access into our partner universities, which include world-leading universities like the University of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Queen Mary, Australian universities, New Zealand, and Canada.”
Connor said NCUK is looking to partner with Jamaican institutions that want to collaborate with UK universities or bring UK education opportunities into Jamaica, adding that “the objective is really to give more access to higher education to students.”
Regional Trade Director for the UK’s Department of Business and Trade for the Commonwealth Caribbean, D’Jamila Ward, said now is the time to do business in Jamaica, noting that British companies look at three things when they seek to do business in external markets – vision, stability, and predictability, noting that Jamaica offers all three.
“National priorities in infrastructure, renewable energy, logistics, and digital transformation align perfectly with the UK’s strength and our modern trade and industrial strategies as we place growth at the heart of our foreign policy,” Ward added.
Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Aubyn Hill, is encouraging London to consider implementing a special visa arrangement to facilitate the movement of Jamaican and other Caribbean service professionals within the United Kingdom.
He believes that this special arrangement could be facilitated under the CARIFORUM-UK Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which governs Caribbean trade and investment relations with the UK.
“To make the market access opportunities under the EPA more effective, better arrangements will be needed to facilitate the movement of Jamaican and other CARIFORUM service professionals within the UK,” Hill said of the EPA that extends beyond traditional trade arrangements to encompass key areas such as competition policy, intellectual property rights, regional integration, and cultural cooperation.
He said that while the Jamaican government remains focused on advancing the manufacturing and export sectors and strengthening the productive capacity of the private sector, it must be acknowledged that services continue to represent the dominant component of Jamaica’s economy, contributing significantly to the island’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Hill is urging Britain to “introduce a special visa arrangement which will be especially beneficial to representatives of our creative industry, particularly our musicians, models, theatre professionals and other entertainers who desire to ply their trade in the UK”.
He said Jamaica would continue to champion deeper dialogue on the matter, recognizing that sustained engagement is essential to the effective implementation of the EPA. Jamaica also stands ready to welcome British citizens who wish to work remotely from the island.
Hill said that National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang is looking into this to ensure Jamaica becomes an even more attractive place for people to reside and for big companies elsewhere to locate.
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