NEW YORK, United States — Jamaicans living here have been assured that their Government has no intention of imposing its will on the Diaspora, nor will it dictate how it should operate.

Junior Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Marlene Malahoo-Forte gave the assurance during a four-hour meeting with representatives of the Diaspora Advisory Board for the North East United States and nationals in the Tri-State Area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on Monday.

The Jamaican Government dispatched the junior minister to the US to defuse growing concerns over the handling of Diaspora affairs, particularly with respect to the upcoming biennial convention scheduled for next month.

“… All efforts have been and continue to be made to engage the Diaspora,” the junior minister told the meeting.

She said, however, that proposed changes on the contentious issue of the selection of advisory board members and future leader representatives, as well as the agenda for the convention “is still a work-in-progress”. She said, too, that the agenda for the convention will include discussions on trade and investments, two items Diaspora leaders had complained were missing from the matters down for discussion. The agenda, outlined by the minister at the meeting, will also include inputs from private sector interests, technocrats from various Government ministries and departments as well as representatives of the Opposition.

Trevor Beckford, who heads the Diaspora Board for the North East United States, said he was satisfied with the meeting, describing the minister’s explanation and the inclusion of several agenda items “as a step in the right direction”.

Esroy Bernard, who attended the meeting and was contemplating boycotting the convention, said he is now likely to attend.

Malahoo-Forte was scheduled to hold a similar meeting in Miami on Tuesday. She has already met with the Canadian Diaspora and is scheduled to meet with the United Kingdom Diaspora, as she works to stave off a possible boycott of the convention.

In the meantime, persons attending Monday’s meeting expressed a desire for direct election of board members and future leader representatives.