Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D Knight has said that Jamaica remained appreciative of the significant developmental and other technical assistance it continued to receive from the Commonwealth.

Delivering his presentation during the 2004/05 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Tuesday (May 25), Mr. Knight said the country particularly valued the extensive work of the Commonwealth in promoting the interests of its member countries in the areas of international trade, the development of small states, the promotion of democracy and the engagement of civil society in the development process.

Referring to Jamaica’s membership in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as a longstanding and important one, Minister Knight stated, “We remain convinced of the continued relevance of the movement in these politically and economically challenging times”.

He said the NAM had the ability to serve as a vital medium for providing checks and balances to unilateralist tendencies in an increasingly unipolar world. Mr. Knight said further, that Jamaica was in full support of the outcomes of the 13th NAM Summit held in February last year, which reaffirmed the commitment of developing countries to revitalize and strengthen the movement as a forum for harmonizing positions and addressing the pressing concerns in the international world.

Mr. Knight informed the House that on June 11-12, there would be a ministerial meeting immediately preceding the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 11, at which there would be an assessment of the latest developments on the international scene.

The group will also seek to enhance coordination of position on issues such as multilateral trade negotiations, the digital divide, strengthening of South-South cooperation and the advancement of North-South partnership for economic and social dialogue.

Mr. Knight said UNCTAD would also examine the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which he said Jamaica was “assiduously pursuing with the commitment to achieving them and is in the process of preparing its report for submission to the United Nations”.

Turning to regional and hemispheric relations, Minister Knight observed that with the continuing impact of globalization and a rapidly changing international political and economic environment, the need for closer links among the countries of the Caribbean Basin and within the hemisphere was essential. “This has necessitated a compelling response from the region, in view of our small size and vulnerability to external developments,” he stated, adding that the changing nature of diplomacy called for a more integrated approach with a greater level of harmonization of policies and decisions. “Against this background, Jamaica remains committed to the regional and hemispheric integration processes,” he said.

The Foreign Affairs Minister pointed out that at the regional level, significant emphasis was being placed on developing a network of alliances with shared goals and interests and that Jamaica continued to play an important role in Caribbean integration, making CARICOM relations a central element in its policy-making framework.

Following the meetings of CARICOM Heads in July 2003, he continued, new impetus had been found in the quest to deepen the regional integration process and to make it more relevant to the everyday lives of the people of the region.
He stated that progress to implement the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), including the Caribbean Court of Justice, was critical to the future of the community and was testimony to the importance attached to its successful realization.