MIAMI – Speaking at a breakfast meeting on Friday, June 23 sponsored by Wachovia Bank in Miami, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller told an audience of Jamaican and US business executives, international bankers and investors that “there is tremendous potential for doing business in Jamaica”.
The breakfast meeting was chaired by the Director of Global Financial Institution, Christopher Raymond a Jamaican national.
Prime Minister Miller spoke of improvements in the country’s infrastructure – roads, seaports, airports, and telecommunications industry. At the same time expressed confidence that ‘the country was on threshold of an investment boom’ and that the tourism and alumina industries were important areas for investment.
Citing areas of job creation where some 25,000 persons would benefit in the construction and tourist industries, the Prime Minister pointed out that nearly 12,000 rooms in hotels and luxury resorts were being built.
The steady increase of tourist visits annually, from the USA, indicated a strong bond of friendship existing between both countries, she added, as some 70% of visitors to Jamaica were from the United States.
Miller also pointed to bond growth and decrease in the domestic interest rate which she noted were also encouraging factors for investment, and job creation and growth.
Speaking on the reduction in the nation’s crime rate, the Prime Minister indicated that she was determined to work with the Minister of National Security to sustain the reduced figures by strengthening social programs and boosting early childhood education in the Jamaican communities.
In closing, Simpson-Miller was presented with the keys to the City of Miami by the City of Miami Mayor, Manny Diaz.
