PRIME Minister Andrew Holness says that this year’s Diaspora Conference, scheduled for Kingston in June, has a special meaning as Jamaica celebrates its Diamond Jubilee as an independent nation.

“Jamaica has always been… giving our people to the world,” he told last Friday’s global launch of the three-day event which starts on June 14.

“So, Usain Bolt’s ‘To the world’ [pose] is not new. And as we mark our 60th year, look out for our Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith to the Commonwealth,” he told guests at the launch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, downtown Kingston.

“We can offer our resources and we will continue to offer them. So, we offered our minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade to the Commonwealth, and we are going to make the Commonwealth an institution that will service members and will serve the development, and economic progress, and the technological progress of its members,” he said..

“This Diamond Jubilee marks a significant milestone in our development as a country and as a people, providing us with an opportunity to place in sharp focus the intersection of the past and the future with a sense of reflection and vision,” he added.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format, facilitating the participation of Jamaicans across the globe to include a maximum of 50 participants attending in person at the foreign ministry building, and a virtual platform which will host an unlimited number of online audience members.

Holness also noted that while the island celebrates its Diamond Jubilee, Jamaica — like many countries across the globe — is being impacted by external shocks brought about by the novel coronavirus pandemic, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He said that these are challenging times, at home and in many parts of the world, “and if we have learnt anything from the past 60 years it is that, in true Jamaican spirit, we must strengthen our resolve to build that which works and that which offers prospects for progress”.

Conference chairman and group CEO of GraceKennedy, Don Wehby noted that it is also an extra special year for his company as it celebrates 100 years of operations.

“The conference comes at a critical time when Jamaica is rolling out a comprehensive plan to rebuild our nation to pre-pandemic levels, and so the theme is fitting. We have had our challenges as a country but we have, and will continue to overcome. The positive contributions from each Jamaican, whether at home or abroad, help to build our nation,” Wehby said.

GraceKennedy has been an integral supporter of the conference since the historic step was taken by the foreign ministry to formalise and strengthen linkages with the Diaspora in 2003. The company has been a legacy partner since the first staging of the conference in 2004. Other legacy partners are Jamaica National and Victoria Mutual.

Wehby explained that the conference is an excellent example of an effective public-private sector partnership, and thanked the other sponsors for the role they play in making the conference possible. He also encouraged members of the Diaspora to continue investing in Jamaica, as the current economic climate lends itself to positive returns.

Minister Johnson Smith said that the organisers were clearly on track for a highly successful conference in June, due in no small part to the creative and talented members of the planning committee.

She said the committee was “extremely grateful” for the public and private sector support and collaboration which the ministry has in place with Diaspora members.