Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade Heads of Mission Meeting
Address
by
Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP,
Prime Minister of Jamaica
at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade Heads of Mission Meeting
on
February 11, 2026
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2018 to now it’s a very long time. Many things have happened in between, but I have had the opportunity to individually interact with almost all of you around this table in some way or form, some more than others.
From the very moment of our independence when the Ministry of External Affairs was established as one of the first four ministries, Jamaica understood something fundamental. Small island states foreign policy is not peripheral. For small island states foreign policy is foundational. We understood that as a small island developing state, we must navigate the global system, not by size, but by strategy. We understood that the global order as much as it is clothed by principle, equity and fairness, ultimately it is about power, but we never sacrifice principle and we are always the country that is willing to stand up for what is right and the truth, but we also believe strongly in partnerships. We’re not a country that is going to promote rhetoric and posture. We are realistic, we’re practical, we seek to understand the structures of power, and we will develop strategic pathways to navigate them. That is the mindset that we expect from our foreign affairs officers.
It is always said that Jamaica has punched above its weight, and that is true. You could say that Jamaica is the small island superpower culturally, without question. Our respected voice, our positive global footprint, our consistent presence in the international arena, these did not happen by accident. They are the product of dedicated professionals who have served the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade with distinction, professionals like yourselves, and so I commend the Foreign Minister and the Minister of State, Permanent Secretary and every one of you who guard Jamaica’s reputation, promote our values, position brand Jamaica as a force of integrity, and constructive engagement around the world.
Your contributions are especially evident during Hurricane Melissa. As Jamaica confronted the largest disaster in our modern history, your advocacy, coordination, and rapid mobilization was invaluable. On behalf of the Government and the people of Jamaica, I express sincere appreciation.
It is fitting that we meet under the theme “Partnerships for Sustainable Development in a New Era”, because this is not merely a routine gathering. We are meeting at a time of profound national and global transitions. Since 1962, Jamaica has safeguarded its political independence. That achievement is sacred, but political independence without economic independence is hollow. Without economic resilience, productivity, and self-determination- a better way to phrase this would be self-reliance, security sovereignty is constrained so in today’s world, political independence is not enough. We must secure our economic independence.
In fact, the only way to fulfil your political objectives is to make sure that you are economically independent. By the way, this is not a new concept. After independence, Norman Manley in making an address to his party conference made the point that the country has achieved its political independence, now the country must focus on achieving economic independence. We have oftentimes gotten sidetracked, diverted, runoff into escapades, got tied up and focused on rhetoric instead of the actual realities of the people and their needs.
My administration has remained laser focused on the needs of the people, and we have not gotten sidetracked, thank God, into any rhetoric, into political ideologies, into foreign wars and foreign issues. We remain laser focused on Jamaica’s interest, and if we haven’t done it in six decades after our independence to secure our economic independence, we should declare that this must be the decade when we secure our economic independence. And the chief agents of this economic independence would not just be the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, a key agency of this economic independence is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, both are together. Our foreign policy must support our economic policy. I hope that that message is the takeaway. I know foreign affairs officers are very skilled at taking copious notes. This is the one that you are not only inscribing on paper but indelibly etching it in your minds.
From the outset, my administration made economic independence a central national objective. We understand that true sovereignty requires more than constitutional authority. It requires fiscal credibility, institutional strength, competitive industries, and the capacity to withstand external shocks without surrendering political autonomy.
Over the past decade, we have pursued that objective with discipline. We strengthened macroeconomic management, reduced debt vulnerabilities, modernize institutions, and rebuilt Jamaica’s credibility in international markets. That credibility was not only symbolic, but it was also strategic. It gave us room to manoeuvre, it gave us stability, it gave us choice, it maximized our options. Then came Hurricane Beryl, and then more devastatingly, Hurricane Melissa. Melissa did not erase our progress, but it tested it severely. It reminded us that for small island states, economic independence must be anchored on resilience. That is a word that we have been using quite often. The challenge when we use words quite often is that they can become rhetoric, especially if the meaning is not fully understood.
Resilience is a key part of our economic independence. This word was never a part of our lexicon for 50 years. In fact, we could never describe the Jamaican economy as resilient because whenever we had a shock, the prospects of recovery were never short term, they were always long-term, decades even. And every shock minor or significance would disrupt our laid plans and the prospects of growth and development. It is only just now that our economy and indeed our society is demonstrating clear signs of resilience, the ability to absorb shocks and recover within the short term, meaning within less than five years.
In fact, all of the shocks that we have absorbed, we have recovered from them and returned to our growth path within three years. And if you think of it, we have had the worst shocks in the last 10 years than in the last hundred years of Jamaica’s existence. I pause there for the idea to be cemented. In fact, if you were to compare the shocks, let’s say the last major shock that we had would have been in 2008, 2009, the global financial crisis; it took us almost 10 years to return to the level of growth and to recover the GDP loss from that global financial crisis.
Now, consider that within between 2009 to 2019, there weren’t any other major shocks. Some rain, some wind, we didn’t have any major weather event, no other major shock. But consider from 2019, we had faced the worst pandemic in a hundred years; wiped out an entire industry in tourism, unemployment rose, growth fell, foreign exchange fell, but yet the country was able to offer the largest care package in our history. I always put it this way so that the public understands, other countries laid off workers. In the United Kingdom, this word furlough became used very often and, in the Caribbean, as well workers were laid off. It’s not something that government gets a lot of credit for, but in Jamaica, not one public servant lost their job or their income during the pandemic.
If that had happened in any other time in our history, I guarantee you that the outcome would not be the same. We supported private sector workers with a care package. We supported private sector workers in tourism and in other businesses who applied for and received a cash grant. We gave an unconditional cash grant to almost 400,000 Jamaicans; unheard of. And within three years, we recovered the jobs that we lost, the GDP that we lost, and we were back on track, and we brought the debt back down to under 70%, amazing. That is what we mean when we say resilience so it’s not rhetoric, it’s not a buzzword. It is something that Jamaica needs to understand that we have this administration, meaning all of you here who are agents and functionaries, and officers with duties and responsibilities would’ve affected this. This is a different Jamaica than in previous decade and it is something that we must strive to keep. It is tangible, and it is real, and it is important to our development, the notion of resilience.
We were hit by Hurricane Beryl and then the next year, and by the way with Hurricane Beryl, we were able to respond within three weeks; 16,000 plus Jamaicans received grants quietly to their accounts and some Jamaicans didn’t even know this that people received their grants. The first time ever in the history of the country, were able to give a reverse tax credit. The dividends of good economic management, we have made it available to the people in tangible ways and then we were hit again following year, but for Hurricane Beryl, we lost about two or three quarters of growth, and then we recovered, sprung back to growth and then Hurricane Melissa.
Hurricane Melissa is a test for Jamaica. It’s a test for our systems, our institutions, our economy, our politics, and our people. So far, my own assessment is that we have responded, given circumstances, given that it is a multiple shock, and we have responded very well. Before the disaster, one would say that the response in terms of our information preparation would be excellent. There is no Jamaican that could say they did not understand, they did not know, they weren’t given directions, they weren’t properly prepared, without question. But I believe it is Mike Tyson who said everyone enters the ring with a plan until they get hit, and of course we were hit. A devastating uppercut knocked us down; legs were a bit wobbly in the first week or two but look at us today.
We are 97% restored in utilities, electricity, water, telecommunications, health services, schools, all roads except those that have had landslides or breakaways are restored. We have now operationalized our ROOFS Programme. We are restoring roofs across the island, the JDF is fully mobilized. Yes, there was what I describe as a system failure. We acknowledge this. We recognize this that ODPEM needed restructuring, and it is not that they weren’t functional, it is that for a disaster agency, exercise is the best way of developing their muscles. In other words, you actually have to be involved and doing, and some of the manuals and procedures were written in Hurricane Gilbert, and they have not been tested to this magnitude and this extent and then there are other gaps there.
Presently we are working on that. We’re working on putting in place the technology to improve accountability, both in terms of managing their stocks and in managing funds that come in to ensure full transparency. We are also managing their ability to have full sight of the theatre of action, that was a challenge. We heard Jamaicans say there’s a community here that nobody has come to, and that is true. And it may sound as a surprise, but that’s because nobody knew about that community. It’s not on the map so when we send the helicopters out to say, go here and go there, they’re looking at a map. And if your community is not one that is known by the SDC or in some database somewhere, you may be overlooked.
We have put in place a mechanism now for us to have full geographical information systems about where people live in Jamaica, that is one of the challenges of informality. As a part of our resilience building, you should know that we are investing in ODPEM and this might be one of the areas where if you see partnership opportunities in the countries that you are, you should pursue them because we look at ODPEM as a national asset, but it is also a regional asset because if anything were to happen in any of the countries in the region, our response would have to be mounted through ODPEM.
Now, if ODPEM is the brains and eyes and hands of the operation, then the JDF would be the legs and the muscles right throughout and the JDF actualize the plans, fill the gaps in emergency with the limited resources that they have had and done a spectacular job in standing up the logistics operations to move goods and critical services from central points to the distributed nodes right across the country. Not much is said so far as to how the JDF has operated, but I’m certain in the analysis of the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, the stories of heroism and sacrifice, and commitment, and service will be told, and they’re still giving that service now, which leads to another point.
I think we should develop the mentality that as an independent country, we are responsible for our own recovery. We must take charge of it, and we must never adopt the mindset that help is going to come from outside. You can’t claim to be politically independent and look outside for your survival and recovery. That statement doesn’t mean we don’t ask for help. That statement doesn’t mean we don’t look for partnership, but what we have discovered, which makes eminent sense, is that the people who get help and the people who are eager to partner with you, the people who secure partnership are the people who stand up and help themselves, the people who show the capability to maximize partnership and assistance, who show the ability to properly account for and use assistance and partnership in the best way, because always remember, philanthropy is not for free. And the people who give, want to get the maximum benefit from their gift. And if their gift is to see you recover, that is the intention, then they want to see the maximum recovery so we must put ourselves in a position to be able to give a guarantee to the people who will come to our assistance, that what they give will be used to the maximum effect because what it means that they don’t have to give a lot.
That statement should not be interpreted in the way you are interpreting it. What it means is that they are not going to pay for our inefficiency, that’s what it means. In other words, they don’t have to give to cover inefficiency. For us as a country, what we need to focus on is being efficient, in having strong institutions, in getting things done the smartest way, the most strategic way. That must become our brand. We can’t claim to have the fastest people on earth and we’re the slowest in business. If speed on the track serves brand Jamaica, believe me, speed in public bureaucracy and in the execution of commercial activity will serve us 10 times more in securing our economic independence.
When we are seeking partnership and seeking assistance, we’re doing it on the basis that we have strong systems that would lead to the maximum benefit for both the giver and the receiver. And that is why we undertook a review of ODPEM, and the review is complete. Ambassador took the time before he became Ambassador to the United States, and led the review for us, and I want to thank you, Tony. Thank you, Ambassador, for taking the time to do the review.
The elements of the review, the recommendations are being implemented as we speak, but you should know and have comfort that Jamaica is in a strong position to utilize aid and the support that is given and you can seek to partner with international entities having confidence that whatever we get will be properly accounted for and used for maximum benefit. I use here a simple example of generators. The conventional wisdom is just to take the generators and give them away, but that doesn’t have a multiplying effect or a long-term cross-cutting effect.
What we have done with the generators that we have received is to build institutional capacity. ODPEM has been given a policy directive that those things that can create resilience in institutions, we should give them to institutions so there won’t be a case if we are hit by another hurricane, that our fire brigade doesn’t have backup generators, that our police stations don’t have backup generators, that our hospitals don’t have backup generators, that the municipal buildings don’t have backup generators, and NWC as well.
Now, I see somebody saying schools. We’re very careful with putting generators in schools because it does pose a risk, if not carefully managed, and children sometimes view them with great curiosity and the results could be fatal, so we have not placed them in schools. We’re using those generators to build resilience so that we can multiply that service to all Jamaicans, and what we have done is to use it as an opportunity for our systems now to have it as part of their asset register, which they must replace and manage so in effect, what we have done is to use this crisis as an opportunity to properly support our critical first response institutions for the long-term. And that’s what we mean when we say we have to give our partners the sense that whatever they give, will be used in the best way possible.
In the post minister era, economic independence must now mean three things, the capacity to finance recovery without mortgaging our sovereignty. It means the productivity to compete in a rapidly reconfiguring global economy. And it means the diversification to withstand future shocks, whether they be climactic, geopolitical, or geo-economic. Crucially, this moment gives us the opportunity to rethink what development must look like for small island states. We must break old models, reconstruct our communities with resilience, reform systems that no longer serve us, and align our national strategies with global transitions.
This is the context for the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, (NRRA), which will anchor long-term recovery, ensure reconstruction is climate proofed, and modernize the way Jamaica prepares for future shocks. NRRA is therefore not simply a special purpose vehicle for reconstruction, it is part of a broader strategy to embed resilience into our economic architecture and secure Jamaica’s long-term economic sovereignty. Your missions will play a central role in mobilizing the technical partnerships, financing instruments, and private capital that this effort will require.
NRRA will become the entity of our efficient, smart, and strategic reconstruction. The entity, therefore, is designed to give confidence to our partners that whatever is given, whatever is loaned, and whatever we use from our own revenue, will be efficiently and transparently used so when you engage on the international stage, you will be able to speak to the entity of NRRA. It will have statutory powers that will allow it to use an efficient bureaucracy. It will have access to the funds that we have specifically secured through international financial institutions, and it will also get part of the country’s capital budget. It will select projects that are geographically determined, meaning projects that are in the zone of impact, specifically the five most affected parishes, but it will also undertake projects that build resilience so these projects may not be in the zone of impact, but when we look at the various models that tell us that if the hurricane had hit elsewhere and we didn’t have this sea wall or this gully was collapsing or blocked, or this road is cut into a hill that is unstable, then we have to think we shouldn’t be waiting until the disaster happen. We know what will happen and so we are going to pre-emptively take on some of these important capital works even though they are not in the area of disaster. If you notice it is the National Reconstruction and Resilience. It is the two criteria for selection of projects.
Your work abroad is shaped by a global context that is more uncertain, more fluid, and challenging than at any time in recent memory. We are witnessing intensifying great power competition, supply chain realignment, nearshoring and French shoring, accelerating effects of climate change, and at the same time climate ambition constrained by tightening development financing. Many of these dynamics risk dividing the international environments and community into blocks of competition, mistrust and confrontation. In such an environment, Jamaica must be neither passive nor impulsive. We must remain steady and strategic. Our guiding compass must remain clear. We will engage all partners based on pragmatism, mutual respect, and the pursuit of peace and development across the globe.
Multilateralism remains integral to our foreign policy. We believe in the value of collective action, in the importance of global rules and in the need to protect vulnerable states whose choices may otherwise be overshadowed. Jamaica’s commitment to the rule of law, decency in international conduct, and the defence of small island developing states remains unwavering, but we must also be realistic. Development finance is tightening even as vulnerability is increasing. Concessional resources are more contested, and global priorities are shifting. That is precisely why Jamaica must be sharper, faster, and more deliberate in its external engagement.
In this new era, I ask you to organize your work around four clear imperatives. One, protect Jamaica’s reputation for stability. Safeguarding Jamaica’s economic credibility is critical because this reinforces investor confidence. Communicate clearly and consistently that fiscal discipline remains intact, that recovery and reconstruction spending will be targeted and strategic, and that Jamaica remains committed to responsible macro-economic management. Our credibility in international markets is not merely cosmetic; it is strategic capital. It lowers borrowing costs. It expands our options. It protects our sovereignty, so we must guard it carefully.
There are many narratives about Jamaica; cultural narratives, which have been with us historically, Jamaica as the country that has stood up against oppression and the voice for the underclass and the oppressed globally. Those are narratives that have defined us globally as a people, but a new narrative is emerging, one that is also very powerful, and we should all be vested in developing it. Jamaica, the country of good governance and good economic management.
Right across the globe, when the story is told of economic recovery, managing debt, fiscal discipline, Jamaica is the case study. We have moved from being the basket case to being the case study. Many of my friends don’t understand why this is important. They don’t understand why we make a point to say the rating agencies have reaffirmed or improved. Without that, if you have to borrow, which we have had to borrow forced sometimes by our own errors, when we go to the people who will lend including our own Jamaicans who will lend to us through bonds, the rate at which we get is higher metric of measuring.
For many years, we have used the homicide rate as the main metric of whether or not there is peace in the country, and you would’ve seen the significant fall in the number of homicides. It means we are moving in the right direction, but we’re not there yet. We are not at the point where we can celebrate it. We have had three years of consistent reductions. We’re going to focus on getting a reduction and even relatively more significant reduction this year, and we’re going to keep pushing that number as far as we can get it down.
We have transformed our police force. We have expanded our security capabilities. Before it was only the JCF. Now, our security apparatus is broadened. We have MOCA, Customs is brought in as a part of our security operations, the JDF has always been the kind of platform for internal and external security, but we’re all coordinating and we have expanded our capabilities in intelligence. We have invested heavily in certain assets and platforms that gives us eyes all across our internal areas and our exclusive economic zone so we have better knowledge of what is happening and who are the people doing it, and we’re targeting and we’re having great results, but peace is not merely the reduction in homicides if the intention to kill still exists.
The next phase of government policy is to remove the intention, the propensity, the inclination to use ultimate violence so we have to focus on violence. We are focused on crime, which is the actual use of violence to commit an act that is prescribed in law as a crime. Now, we have to treat with violence and not every act of violence is a crime, but if you leave social violence, it will eventually result in an act of crime, so we have to focus on eliminating violence as a first resort to the resolution of conflict in our society.
You will hear us speak more about this. We have been putting things in place for a number of years, and we are now ready to execute. Clearly Melissa would’ve diverted our attention from that policy imperative, but we are going to be back on track within a few months. We do have a report on from the National Violence Prevention Commission, and we intend to implement the recommendations from that report, but you will see a more targeted instrumental plan from the government to treat with this issue of violence.
In the next decade, we must take out violence as an element of brand Jamaica. When they do the word map of brand Jamaica violence must not appear as one of the words associated with Jamaica. And I’m not here speaking, even though I’m doing it extemporaneously, it’s not in my notes, but I’m not speaking here anecdotally. Jamaica has actually hired a consulting firm that deals with establishing brand and protecting national branding and so this is something that we’re studying very carefully because Jamaica is said to have one of the five most known and valuable brands, but we haven’t monetized it. And because we don’t necessarily see it as the asset that it is, we haven’t been deliberately protecting it and so we recognize this and we are taking steps to protect our brand so that we can get the value of the brand.
When we did the analysis of the brand, we see that violence is creeping up as one of the associations of the brand so those Jamaicans who are involved in crime, who use violence and who organize violence, they are destroying brand Jamaica, that’s literally what they’re doing. They’re destroying our economic prospects. The shift has to be that we must separate the use of violence and criminal activity from social justice issues.
As a country, we have been duplicitous, conflicted, almost forgiving, and there are those who think that people need to have illegal guns to protect themselves. There are those who think that gangs are merely disadvantaged youth under the corner. As a society, we need to eliminate that from our thinking. Gangs are organized criminal enterprise that use violence for profit. That’s what they are, and they must be eliminated so we’re addressing these issues.
You are, I’m sure, oftentimes confronted by these situations. You see it mostly when we get a downgrade in the travel advisories, which has immediate economic impact on tourism revenues and other activities, and as Diplomats and foreign affairs officers, you might have to address this. The message is Jamaica is dealing with this frontally, and we are having a great success in treating with violence in our society and reducing homicides, that Jamaica is indeed a country at peace now.
The message has shifted to peace but always remember that foreigners looking on understand peace maybe in a different way; conflict meaning wars so probably the more appropriate term is safety and security, that Jamaica is making significant strides in safety and security, which is the case. And I want to point out to you that safety and security have significant economic benefits.
Right where we are on the waterfront overlooking the beautiful Kingston Harbour is the most valuable piece of real estate in Kingston, but yet it is not used. Investment is not flocking in as other waterfront areas in other jurisdictions. Recently I visited, Panama and they are building an incredible skyline. Panama is beautiful, but I’m not saying that Jamaica is more beautiful for any reason of exceptionalism, but our waterfront, our scenery is more iconic, but we haven’t used it.
Why haven’t we used it?
Because we have allowed it to be overtaken by crime and violence and it is not that this area is unsafe or less safe than anywhere else, it is just seared into the minds of Jamaicans the history, but it is changing. Just down the road an investor has put up a lovely apartment complex and there are several others that are coming and you’re going to see that happen as the image of downtown changes from a place that is less safe to a place that is becoming safe for business, commerce, leisure, and livelihoods. We are moving towards peace, and that’s the message that you will take to the global community. Jamaica is seriously addressing and having great impact on safety and security.
We expect that you will actively mobilize partnerships aligned with our national reconstruction priorities: climate resilience, infrastructure. Many of the countries in which you’re posted, they deal with these matters, and it has become almost routine for them. We need to understand what they do and how they do it and whether or not they would be willing to share their learnings and resources and partner with us and this will be done primarily through NRRA, but we always think when it comes to climate in terms of mainstreaming this is a cross cutting activity for all of government.
Climate smart housing, just to break that down, we’re talking about affordable housing that can withstand on unpredictable climate. We have built in a particular way for decades, it’s hard to change how we build people. People see the security in housing, buy block and steel. There are many other building materials that give good protection from the climate. We need to find them and see how best we can transpose them here in Jamaica.
Renewable energy and storage
We have a lot of sun. Renewable technology is becoming more accessible. We would love to have greater partnerships to do this at scale. I think there is a growing industry in the household renewable, but we need now industries that will look at taking entire communities off grid. These are things we can pursue.
You would have recently heard that we have signed a subsea cable agreement and that is effectively building a brand-new information highway. We have had two-lane highways before, this will be like a 10 lane highway both ways that literally we will be able to increase information flow adding redundancy, increase speed of communication, and it is not just my hope, it is my intention that putting in that subsea cable will bring down the cost of connectivity in Jamaica. So, you can say safely that Jamaica is putting itself in a position to be a serious player in the information technology world so if you have persons who want to come and locate here or do business in our digital sphere, we will welcome those partnerships.
Now, we have nurtured a logistics and supply chain industry in Jamaica. It is growing, it is doing fairly well, but I don’t think we have reached our full potential. The challenge with these industries is that it is not usually the case that people who are involved in logistics also tie up themselves with infrastructure. Meaning, that logistics companies would much rather someone else builds the infrastructure and they use it. So, oftentimes it is the government that has to de-risk and take on the capital expenditure, because logistics businesses are usually small margins. They’re moving things around and doing it very quickly.
We recognize this and the Government of Jamaica is invested significantly in expanding our logistics infrastructure. You would’ve heard the groundbreaking for the Caymanas Special Economic Zone. We have talked about that for more than 10 years. That is finally operational in the sense that it is being constructed. Now, the UDC, they have taken on the Raintree Project in the same Caymanas area, and there are some other major plans that you will hear more about for St James in terms of the Freeport and other areas. We’re now building out even greater capacity for logistics so this is an area in which you can push very hard to get businesses to come to Jamaica. Each mission should identify at least two priority sectors aligned with our reconstruction agenda and pursue structured measurable engagements in those areas. Engagement and partnership must move from concept to capital flows.
The global economy is in the midst of profound structural change. Supply chains are shifting, investment is diversifying, digital and green transitions are accelerating, new production corridors are emerging. Jamaica must now observe these changes. We must position ourselves as well in these changes. Economic diplomacy must therefore be proactive and strategic. We must identify anchor investors, expand export access, promote Jamaica as a logistics service and innovation hub within the western hemisphere, and leverage our stability, location, and our reform track record and this ensures that the world understands that we may be small in size, but not in ambition.
I want to talk about strengthening our security and regional cooperation. There can be no development without security and peace. Transnational crime, narcotics, trafficking, the elicit flow of weapons, cyber threats, and organized criminal networks undermine our economic independence and erode investor confidence. Our missions must prioritize structured cooperation on intelligence sharing, maritime security, border management, financial crime enforcement, and we must look seriously at capacity building partnerships. I want to spend a little time on being deliberate in building capacity.
When Hurricane Melissa struck, there was an immediate need for airlift capabilities. The JDF had a certain number of helicopters and a certain percentage of that was serviceable, meaning that they could be used so maybe 60% of what we had could be used. We were really short on airlift capacity, which is why in addition to not knowing where some of the communities were because they were informal and they were not on any database, we just didn’t have the airlift capability to move the relief supply and the emergency services as timely and as quickly as we would want. It is our standing partners, the United States, who provided significant airlift capabilities that stepped in at fairly short notice and provided us with some capabilities, and they stayed long enough to ensure that we were able to address some of the issues. Private persons as well came in with their airlift, and I want to thank all our partners and our friends who came in to support with airlift.
But what it said to us, two things. One, we must make the capital investment in our own capabilities. These capabilities are not cheap. To acquire a helicopter, you’re talking millions of dollars and as we sit in the Cabinet, you elected us to think about these decisions. Do we buy helicopters or do we repair schools? Minister is bringing it closer to home, do we open a new mission or do we buy a helicopter? These are tough realities and it literally could mean someone could die because there is no airlift to find them in an emergency situation.
We have been investing heavily in the capabilities of the JDF, but it is clear that as these weather events and other shocks become more intense, but not just that, they are more frequent and they are overlapping. Before you come out of one, you’re already into another and it is not always that your partners are going to be able to come so number one, for us, internally we need to equip ourselves and we need to have multiple partnerships so that if one can’t come, we know we can rely on another. And so, as you interact in your various jurisdictions, it is important to pursue these kinds of security partnerships that would also involve some understanding on supporting each other if emergencies were to occur.
I should also say that the opportunities for the development of our security architecture are significant, but we haven’t been exploring them, and so it’s not just collaborations on emergency situations, but there may be security partners who would want to collaborate with us on intelligence sharing and developing intelligence capabilities. There are countries that may want to partner with us in dealing with organised criminal activities and transnational crime. There are countries that may want to train with our forces, and we may want to train with them. There are countries that have specific capabilities in equipment and technology that we don’t have, but we need to have the expertise anyway, so that we could secure partnerships in getting our personnel trained, particularly in cyber, which is absolutely critical, so these are areas that I would want you to pursue.
No discussion of Jamaica’s foreign policy can be complete without acknowledging the Jamaican diaspora. Across the world, our nationals abroad carry Jamaica in their hearts. They contribute to the society in which they live while maintaining deep and enduring ties at home. Many of our diaspora work tirelessly to serve and protect our national interests. This is what we oftentimes call paradiplomacy, having persons in other jurisdictions in other countries who are able to bring our positions in parallel to the formal channels of diplomacy, and our diaspora essentially serves that process, but our relationship with the diaspora sometimes has largely been characterised in terms of remittances, and we have largely in terms of the foreign ministry, we would interact with them more in terms of consular services, but I think we have to start to see the diaspora as an extended market for Jamaica and we have to start to position ourselves as the homeland for our diaspora.
I suspect that is a statement that needs some unpacking, but more and more in an increasingly uncertain world, people are looking for certainty. They are looking for a place where they can feel like they belong, where they will be respected, they will be protected, and where their contribution will be valued and that they can make a contribution. The old thinking is that you have escaped Jamaica, and we’re happy for you, and persons here are also looking to escape Jamaica. Not by our own doing, but by how the world is changing, that perspective of Jamaica relative to other countries will change, and more and more people are going to understand the importance of your homeland.
Our foreign policy towards our diaspora needs to change to encourage them to have not just the emotional connection and familial connection, but they must have a solid economic connection to Jamaica, and to make Jamaica the place that they can come back home to and not just the romantic ideal and patriotic support from afar. And I think that this is a real issue that has to be discussed. I know it is fraught with all kinds of perspectives, but our job is to deal with difficult issues, and so how Jamaica must see itself now is the homeland. And we really have to, because think of it, we have about 3 million people who could potentially claim Jamaica or who are Jamaicans, and we have to put ourselves in a position that should they have to come back home, we can provide their needs. And when I say provide their needs, immediately people are thinking they’re going to crowd our hospitals, that’s not what we mean.
Many of them want to come back because their need is to give back. Their need is to invest. Their need is to help with the resources, the experience, and the technology that they have been helping other countries with, and they would love to do it here, but we’re just not in a position to receive. That’s how we should be thinking about our diaspora. If they choose to live abroad, they could also choose to live here. Many of them live abroad because they feel they have no choice, but we must create Jamaica as the place of choice. It’s something that we need to do, and we can do.
By the way, as winters become colder, there are many, many, many, many Jamaicans who are quietly wishing they were back home, and as they progress towards retirement, they want to come back to their homeland, but we are just not in a position to receive them and so for many, there is this nostalgia, there is this romantic view of Jamaica, but when they come, they’re confronted with a reality that rapidly destroys that perspective. And what we must do is build the consonance that the romantic view that they have of Jamaica, when they come it is realized, and it is not that we’re doing it for them, we have that romantic view of Jamaica, but every day it is being challenged by whether it is violence, aged infrastructure, sanitation, all kinds of issues, but our message is that we are effectively dealing with these issues and we are putting ourselves in a position where our diaspora can come back to Jamaica and work like any other Jamaican.
And I want to be clear, this is not a presentation or a thesis defence regarding making special provisions for people in the diaspora. In fact, you know when you’re doing it well, when you don’t need to give any special incentives, so we are working to build a Jamaica where everyone can come. And it’s not just the diaspora we should seek to attract; ask them to come back. Jamaica needs to open up itself to other people, other cultures to help to enrich the Jamaican culture and experience. This has always been the case for Jamaica; that’s why our culture is so strong, because it has this incredible diversity.
In a sense, as I digress further from this, but I don’t know if you feel it, but I do feel it that the society is in need of renewal. I was talking recently to someone who was saying maybe something has gone wrong in the education system, but the complaint was that the level of skill that he’s looking for for his business, he could have found it easily several decades ago. The education system was turning out the level that they require but he was lamenting that he can’t find it now and I was saying no, it’s just that you have gotten older and your expectations are… You hear this lament privately being echoed in certain quarters about what is happening to, not just the education, but the values and attitudes of Jamaicans particularly towards work, towards authority, respect. It is a challenge. It’s something that we have to address, and oftentimes how this is done is you have to bring into your systems persons who are exposed to the highest standards, persons who are in other environments where they see how things are done differently and can come and assist at an institutional level, the raising of values and standards. Not to put down or to look down upon or to disparage, but to introduce something new that our people can be attracted to because the challenge is that our people are looking for new things to excite them. It is just that the things that have come in that is of their interest are not in their interest so we have to be deliberate in attracting into the country the new talent, the new exposure, the new innovators who can help to stimulate our local talent as well.
It has to be strategic, and it has to be something that is deliberately pursued. I’m certain all over the globe, there are many high-functioning high-standard activities that are leading the way, whether in technology, in finance, in human development, in climate, that we need to bring to Jamaica to help to lift our standards here as well. And oftentimes, you can find a Jamaican in it that is doing it, and we see this. One of them is STEM. There is a Jamaican professor, his name escapes me at the moment, and he has always been very active in STEM, in promoting STEM.
We have a grandmaster in chess, and he’s very active in promoting chess. We need to bring back more of these people and integrate them here in what we are doing to kind of lift the standards of the society. And so the diaspora is that reservoir repository of that kind of knowledge that we need to bring back here in Jamaica. In effect, we have to re-engineer and reverse the brain drain. We have to create the brain reflow into Jamaica, absolutely necessary as we move forward.
Heads of mission, you are the custodians of Jamaica’s image, interests and influence. You hold the responsibility of ensuring that Jamaica’s voice is heard clearly, that our partnerships are strengthened, and that our national priorities are advanced with professionalism and conviction. As we rebuild after Melissa, as we reposition our economy and navigate global uncertainty, your role becomes even more important. I charge you to support the vision of building a modern, just, and peaceful Jamaican society, a country where every citizen feels secure and confident about living, working, doing business, and as I add retiring in paradise. Your success abroad shapes our success at home. Let us move forward, principled, purposeful, and united, building a resilient, modern, and productive Jamaica in this new era.
Thank you for your service, and I wish you fruitful deliberations. I thank you.