KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – The government is reporting that the Net International Reserves (NIR) are at the highest they have ever been at US$2.849 billion, since 2002.

State Minister for Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, made the disclosure during her contribution to the 2017/18 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.She also mentioned the Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund, with funds totalling approximately US$1.7 billion.“These resources are available for current account support in the event of unforeseen external events beyond our control,” Williams noted.She said that while Jamaica’s natural beauty, its people, its music, its foods beckon to the world, the country faces the challenge of recurring extreme weather events, natural disasters and rising sea levels.“So, while we continue to make the needed reforms, structural and otherwise, and while we seek to make our infrastructure climate-resilient, we are very conscious that the recurring climate and disaster shocks can reduce our fiscal space and can increase the risk of our external accounts,” the state minister said.She argued that a Precautionary Stand-By Arrangement, plus healthy net international reserves “give us Jamaicans the assurance of a safety net, a strong safety net”.