WASHINGTON, DC United States — Colourful United States President Donald Trump has lauded the beauty of Jamaica.

Trump, who met with Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks recently, commented on the charm and attraction of the island of 2.8 million inhabitants, and was extended an invitation by the ambassador to visit Jamaica in his official capacity, which the president promised to consider.

President Trump reiterated his commitment to the development of Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, and said that he is looking forward to working with Jamaica’s political Administration, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, on greater bilateral and regional issues.

The president’s comments came during a courtesy call paid on him by Marks at the Oval Office in the White House here.

Trump and Marks, in their exchange, underscored the strong bond of friendship that has existed over the years between the people Jamaica and the United States of America, noting the contribution of Jamaica to many spheres of American life.

In her remarks, Ambassador Marks said that she looked forward to working with the US president in the interest of both countries.

The Jamaica ambassador highlighted the synergies of the US-Caribbean nexus which cements the relationship between the United States and Jamaica.

Ambassador Marks, in noting the president’s agenda of providing more trading opportunities for US companies, called attention to the significant trade surplus the USA enjoys with the region.

She pointed to the fact that the Caribbean Basin Area is the United States’s seventh-largest trading partner, importing non-oil goods and services of over US$50 billion and placing the region ahead of US exports to comparatively larger economies such as Russia and India combined.

She further noted the mutual benefit and alignment of interest for the continued stability and economic growth of the Caribbean, the United States’s ‘Third Border’.

It was soon after that the Jamaican envoy also took the opportunity to invite the president to visit Jamaica, following remarks initiated by Trump about how beautiful Jamaica was.

Republican Trump, 70, a businessman and former television personality, defied the odds last November when he scored an upset win over Democrat Hillary Clinton to become the 45th President of the United States, replacing Barack Obama, who had visited Jamaica in an official capacity for the first time in 2015.

The father of five’s first taste of the word ‘Jamaica’ came at birth when he was delivered at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Jamaica, New York City, on June 14, 1946.

A billionaire, Trump has led a life that has been a mixed bag of controversy, financial success, irregular conduct, and surprising twists.

— Additional reporting by Sunday Observer staff