FOREIGN Affairs Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Jamaica on Wednesday will serve as “another opportunity to strengthen collaboration” between Kingston and Washington, and address the pressing issues that affect both countries as well as the region.

“We are pleased to welcome Secretary Rubio on his first visit to Jamaica. Our countries have a long-standing partnership since our Independence, and our robust cooperation has been practised at all levels and across critical sectors — including health, agriculture, security, trade and investment,” Johnson Smith said in a statement on Monday in which she expressed her continued commitment to advancing Jamaica’s interests.

Rubio, who is scheduled to have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and other government officials, is the fifth US secretary of state to visit Jamaica in the past 14 years.

In June 2011 Hillary Clinton held a high-level meeting between the Caribbean Community, Dominican Republic and the United States at Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay.

The year before, in January 2010, Secretary Clinton had stopped at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on her way from earthquake-torn Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where she observed problems hampering the distribution of relief supplies. During that stop she had a quick meeting with then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Dr Kenneth Baugh, inside the airport’s VIP lounge.

In February 2018 Secretary Rex Tillerson visited Jamaica for talks with the Government. Just under two years later, in January 2020, Jamaica welcomed Secretary Mike Pompeo, after which Secretary Antony Blinken visited in May 2024 to participate in Haiti-related talks.

“We believe that significant strides have been made in Jamaica-US relations and that, together, we will continue to forge a path towards increased collaboration,” Minister Johnson Smith said on Monday as she affirmed that Jamaica is keen to strengthen its investment attraction and security cooperation, among other areas.

She also confirmed that while in Jamaica, Rubio is expected to have bilateral engagements with three other leaders from across the region, and expressed a warm, advanced welcome to the delegations from Caricom member states who have been issuing their respective statements on the visit.