KINGSTON, Jamaica – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia, Dr. Jaime Bermudez Merizalde, Tuesday (November 4), signed an agreement on exploration activities in the Joint Regime Area, established by the Maritime Delimitation, Treaty between Jamaica and Colombia.
The agreement, which was signed at the closing ceremony of the Sixth Meeting of the Jamaica/Colombia Bi-national Neighbourhood Commission, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in Kingston provides for collaboration in the exchange of information on hydrocarbons (oil and gas), and possible joint explorations.
“The decision therefore, to collaborate with Colombia in this area, will support the efforts of the Government of Jamaica, to secure the country’s long term energy security and diversify its energy resources,” Dr. Baugh said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), on a Teacher Exchange Programme, which will provide a framework to facilitate the implementation of an exchange programme for teachers from both countries, was also signed by both Ministers.
The Teacher Exchange Programme, is aimed at improving the language proficiency and experiences of Jamaican teachers of Spanish, and Colombian teachers of English.
In addition, both countries signed the final act of the Sixth Meeting of the Jamaica/Colombia Bi-national Neighbourhood Commission, which records the fact that the meeting was held in Kingston from November 3-4, 2008. Also, a Joint Communiqué of the Official visit to Jamaica, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia, was signed.
Dr. Baugh, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting, particularly the signing of the MoU on the Teacher Exchange Programme.
“I have one key interest in the teaching of Spanish in Jamaica. I feel that at least one language must be commonly spoken in Jamaica and that is Spanish. It is the language of trade, of commerce and business in Latin America and the Caribbean,” the Minister pointed out.
Dr. Baugh noted that Jamaica/Colombia trading relations have traditionally been very one sided in Colombia’s favour, and cited the need for Jamaica to explore the potential for the export of premium products, such as herbs and spices.
On another matter, the Minister said that Jamaica would be actively exploring the proposals put forward by Colombia, to utilise Jamaica’s ports as a distribution hub for its exports to the wider Caribbean and to Europe.
In his remarks, Dr. Merizalde said he was pleased with the outcome of the two-day meeting of the Bi-national Neighbourhood Commission.
“It has been a great success, in terms of what we have achieved. The fact that we held this meeting probably shows what the interests are between our two countries,” he said.
“We have a lot of co-operation matters to be developed and to be strengthened. Let me mention two things, which are still missing.one is more flights between Jamaica and Colombia, and we need to do more about that. We also need to do more in terms of strengthening our relationship with CARICOM. That is a key issue for us as well,” Dr. Merizalde added. (JIS)
