Nigeria and Jamaica have pledged their commitment to enhance bilateral and economic relations.
The two countries made the pledge at the opening of the fourth Session of the Nigeria and Jamaica Joint Commission taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Joint Commission governs the framework for cooperation between the two countries.
The Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, disclosed that the two countries have put in place mechanisms to strengthen bilateral relations in several mutually beneficial areas.
He noted that the Joint Commission deliberated on issues bordering on education, cultural cooperation, economic and trade matters, technical cooperation, energy cooperation and migration.
Mr Onyeama further noted that Nigeria is determined to ensure that these joint commissions will not be just an annual or biannual ritual adding that a proper mechanism has been put in place to monitor and ensure that real and practical are taken to achieve what the two countries sign up and agree to.
He said there is a lot that binds Nigeria and Jamaica together, adding that they are all sovereign countries and as such, still have to put in place mechanisms to strengthen their relationships.
“We are both from the same source and so we are essentially the same people. We are brothers and sisters and we do not see them as just another country with which we trade and develop relations. For us, they are kith and kin and that’s how our policy towards Jamaica and other countries of the Caribbean is founded on that basis of kinship
“Although it is one short flight, the impact will really be a giant leap for the relations between Nigeria and Jamaica as well as the rest of the Caribbean. We are actually hoping that Jamaica will be the possible hub for Nigerian flights to the Caribbean.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Jamaica, Kamina Johnson Smith, said the joint commission would allow the two countries to celebrate and deepen the long-standing formidable and dynamic friendship between Jamaica and Nigeria.
She emphasized that the flight to Jamaica from Nigeria in December 2020 is a small step in the right direction, adding that Jamaica looks forward to exploring prospects in oil and gas, mining, trading in agriculture and non-agricultural products and wider investment opportunities and as such, welcomes the opportunity to explore the potentials to strengthen and deepen the bilateral relations of the two countries in these areas.
“This occasion of course marks the very first time that the meeting of this joint commission is taking place on the continent in Nigeria. Since its establishment over 30 years ago, this joint commission has been a viable and important medium for us to exchange views on issues of mutual interest.
“We are pleased to have hosted previous sessions of the joint commission in 1999, 2002 and 2014 and we welcome the fact that we are able to meet here in your wonderful country during my first official visit to Nigeria.
“I and my team are committed to ensuring that the mechanisms we put in place will allow for continuous follow-up and implementation to ensure that there are deeds to match the words which will be exchanged during the course of today”, she said.
She expressed confidence that the two countries can foster more mutually beneficial frameworks for engagement and commerce and that they will identify new areas for cooperation even as they seek to deepen existing ones.
Both countries have maintained active levels of cooperation over the years, notably in health, education, craft development and other cultural fields, as well as tourism and energy.
Nigeria and Jamaica established diplomatic ties on April 29, 1970.
PIAK
