Ambassador Richard Bernal has said that despite the challenges being faced by the Jamaican economy, what with fears of Brexit and the United States presidency of Donald Trump, achieving economic growth was still possible.

Speaking at the Mico University Alumni Association’s 95th anniversary at the Knutsford Court Hotel on Friday, Ambassador Bernal, who is also Pro Vice Chancellor, Global Affairs at the University of the West Indies (UWI) examined the impact of Brexit and the United States affecting Jamaica and some Caribbean countries, economic stability as well as the ability of Jamaica to grow despite its economical issues. He said that despite Britain’s decision to exit the European Union, it may not negatively affect Jamaica.

Ambassador Bernal, a former Jamaica ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States, highlighted the negative implications that Brexit may have for Britain, including the fact that Scotland and Ireland voted to remain a part of the EU. He said that though there is a relationship between Jamaica and Britain it may have a small impact on the Jamaican economy.

“Britain is not a major trade partner anymore and their share of total imports and exports has declined considerably in the last decade. Part of the special arrangement through the EU for banana and sugar has dismantled and also you find that the British goods are very expensive and not very competitive,” said Ambassador Bernal.

He added that in terms of developmental assistance from Britain, it is generally a small sum from the former motherland’s budget that is allocated to Jamaica and there isn’t any reason why it would not remain that way.

Regarding tourism, he believes that Jamaica will continuously have a demand for visitors to the island. However, British tourists are not a major part of the Jamaican tourism industry in terms of visitation, he noted.

Ambassador Bernal cited interesting parallels between Brexit and the election of Trump. Noting the importance of the US to Jamaica, his recommendation is that Jamaica seeks to understand what is the most feasible approach, as maintaining a good relationship is important.

The possibility, he said, is there for Jamaica being a developing country, to be able in terms of globalisation to access certain benefits. Any country he said that is eager and knows what it wants can influence United States policy.

Ambassador Bernal said that despite the debt problem that exists in Jamaica, the island’s advantage is that it is sufficiently small and it is possible to get out of its debt situation.

“What the literature and economics says is if you are over 70 per cent debt GDP you are not going to grow out of it by yourself, you got to do something. But it’s a pandemic in the Caribbean, therefore we need to make a major intervention to deal with the debt problem of small-and-middle income countries,” Ambassador Bernal said.

There are other activities that can be explored, the retired diplomat noted. Business outsourcing is evident in Jamaica, he said. However, there are other activities such as offshore health care. He said that given the cost of health care in the United States and other countries, Jamaica has a comparative advantage and it could be a major economic opportunity if Jamaica were to develop that industry.

He cited education as another option that can create economic opportunities

“Only 28 per cent of the Mona Campus (UWI) is paid for by the Government, the rest is earned from fees, research, etc. Instead of squeezing more resources out of the fiscal situation, increase fees and get more from the alumni, squeeze the global economy. We can export services, have more foreign students here paying foreign exchange and service foreign students abroad over the Internet,” Ambassador Bernal said.

The next agenda for Jamaica to grow, he said, is to make a cluster of higher education institutions and this could become another export sector as it does not only earn for the university but the whole economy.