KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) Jamaica is negotiating a Joint Commission Agreement with Trinidad and Tobago with the objective of developing a mutually beneficial cooperation programme.

This was disclosed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 37th regular meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which is being held in Georgetown, Guyana, from July 4-6.

“We intend to undertake similar initiatives with other member States,” Holness said.

He noted that strengthening bilateral relations is an important element of the regional relationship, and is something that members of Caricom should give more attention.

“We believe that bilateral consultations supported by additional effort in the institutions of our community can make the movement of labour equal with the movement of goods, extending the progress and benefit of the integration effort,” Holness said.

The prime minister noted that Jamaicans have been expressing concerns about increased denial of entry to other jurisdictions and also question the treatment at ports of entry.

“These must be urgently addressed in a meaningful way, otherwise the economic sense of Caricom becomes increasingly questioned itself. We have begun to discuss the matter bilaterally and we are encouraged by the level of understanding and responsiveness to our concerns,” he pointed out.