IT has been only six months since Wes Moore took office as governor of Maryland state in America. And while he has been tackling his campaign agenda with breakneck speed — having introduced 10 Bills which he said won bipartisan support in his first legislative session — he admitted being eager to increase trade between that mid-Atlantic state and Jamaica.

His Administration, he said, is already in dialogue with Jamaican Government officials. In fact, on his way to Jamaica last Friday to accept an honorary doctorate from University of the Commonwealth Caribbean at its graduation ceremony on Sunday, Moore said he had a discussion with Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

“Just last night as I was coming down I had a chance to speak with the prime minister. We have very close relationships with, not just the [US] ambassador but the deputy prime minister and some of the ministers in the commerce and the economic development teams. So we have a very, very close relationship with government leaders, and also organisation leaders in Jamaica, and we plan on strengthening those as well,” Moore told the Jamaica Observer on Saturday afternoon.

“The great thing is, you have wonderful institutions of higher education, both in the United States and in Jamaica. You have a strong pipeline for talent, and particularly for new technology,” he said, as he added that thought is being given to trade relationships in a range of sectors from life sciences to artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and tourism.

“So I think there’s a lot of elements that we have great relationships with now, but we’re going to continue building out those relationships,” added Moore whose mother, grandparents, and great grandparents are Jamaicans.

Moore, Maryland’s 63rd governor, created history when he defeated Republican Dan Cox in November 2022 to become the first black man to hold the post since the formation of the state 246 years ago. He is also the third African-American elected governor in US history.

On Saturday he expressed anticipation for reciprocal trade benefits between his state and Jamaica, adding that his Administration acknowledges the entrepreneurial spirit that exists on the island.

“We’re excited for business leaders and businesses in Jamaica to be able to have product that gets sold in the United States, and we’re excited for our businesses and our entrepreneurs to be able to have markets in Jamaica… So we’re very excited about the level of trade that we have now but [we’re] also very eager to continue to [do more],” he told the Observer.

In July this year Moore told Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill and Ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks, during a courtesy call paid on him, that he was excited about the potential partnership between Maryland and Jamaica.

“I am ready to take it to new heights. I want for us to be true partners in every sense of the word, in education and business partnership. We have a very strong and proud Jamaican Diaspora population here in the state of Maryland,” said Moore.