MONTEGO BAY, St James — The city of Montego Bay is set to host another major conference with the staging of the 2020 Global Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Management in the Americas in July 2020.

The announcement was made by Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie.

The local government minister noted that it will be the first time the summit will be staged outside of the Americas.

“The Global Regional Platform for the Americas and the Caribbean…Jamaica has the unique pleasure of being the first country outside of the Americas to be hosting such an international forum,” McKenzie stated.

He was speaking at the closing session of the inaugural Local Governance Conference put on by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development at the Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort and Spa in Rose Hall, St James, from July 17-19.

The conference was staged under the theme: ‘Strengthening Responsiveness and Accountability within the Local Governance Framework’.

McKenzie, who noted that the just concluded conference was a “test run” for the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas, anticipates the conference, will attract no less than 1,500 delegates.

“Since the inception of the conference, the smallest number of participants that they have had at any given time was 1,200. The conference in Cancun in Mexico had some 1,700 delegates,” the local government minister noted.

He added: “It is anticipated that when we host this conference in July 2020, we should expect between 1,500 and 1,600 delegates coming to the shores of the country.”

More than 1,400 delegates from 60 countries were in attendance over the three days of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) meeting on ‘Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Partnerships for Sustainable Tourism’, which was held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James, from November 27 to 29 last year.