Rubio pledges multi-pronged cooperation with Jamaica

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio just concluded a joint press conference with Jamaica's Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, after the two men met for a bilateral meeting at Jamaica House.

Mr Rubio outlined several areas of economic and security cooperation his government will be pursuing with Jamaica.

One of the measures he promised was the facilitation of near-shore manufacturing opportunities for Jamaica as the US seeks to facilitate the relocation of such enterprises from more distant locations back to the United States or close by in the region.

That, he noted, was in keeping with Jamaica's own ambitions for the development of its logistics hub, which was reiterated by Prime Minister Holness in his opening remarks.

Rubio also held out the prospect of Jamaica's manufacturing ventures being made less onerous through the availability of Liquified Natural Gas as a primary source of clean and affordable energy to drive those initiatives.

On the security front, he conceded that the United States remains a major source of the guns that are at the main tools of destruction used by criminal gangs in this country and pledged further cooperation to stem that flow of weapons.

Travel Advisory

Acknowledging the significant decline in murders being seen in Jamaica in 2024 and more so, thus far this year, a point highlighted by Prime Minister Holness himself, Mr Rubio said it was time for the Trump administration to re-evaluate the current US travel advisory on Jamaica, which discourages American tourists visiting the country.

The current travel advisory was based on older crime statistics, and so, with the improvement in the security situation, Mr Rubio said "I think we need to analyse that and just ensure that the status we're currently in accurately reflects the status quo and takes into account the progress you've already made this year and made last year."

He commended Jamaica on that improvement, characterising it as "one of the highest numbers, in terms of reductions (in murder) which we've seen of any country in the region."