[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE SIXTH BIENNIAL JAMAICAN DIASPORA CONFERENCE

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, today, I want to take a moment to recognize 
the important relationship between the United States and Jamaica and 
the role Jamaican Americans play in promoting trade and development 
between our two nations.
  The United States has a robust and important relationship with 
Jamaica. President Obama's trip to Jamaica in April 2015 illustrated 
that we see Jamaica as a key regional leader and that we have a strong 
interest in strengthening our bilateral security relationship with 
Jamaica.
  The United States is Jamaica's leading partner in trade, chief source 
of foreign direct investment, FDI, and home to the largest Jamaican 
diaspora in the world. The more than 1 million Jamaicans in the United 
States make crucial contributions to the Jamaican economy through 
remittances and support for friends and family still in Jamaica. Proud 
Jamaicans like Delaware's Lorraine Badley connect business leaders with 
opportunities for investment and trade, host ministers and other 
Jamaican officials, and strengthen community connections in both 
countries.
  From Bob Marley, who first emigrated from Jamaica to my home State, 
to former NBA basketball player Patrick Ewing and former Secretary of 
State Colin Powell, first- and second-generation Jamaican Americans 
have made significant and lasting contributions to our economy, sports, 
art, and political system.
  The Jamaican Government recognizes the critical role Jamaicans living 
abroad play in Jamaica's economic advancement, and this week they are 
hosting the Sixth Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay. 
The conference brings together members of the Jamaican diaspora from 
the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries to build 
connections and boost diaspora investment in the Jamaican economy. I 
would like to commend the Jamaican Government for their efforts to 
diversify their economy and become a regional leader in trade and 
investment.
  The Diaspora Conference taking place this week will leverage that 
support into targeted investments to grow Jamaica's infrastructure, 
ports, and logistics capacity to make it the central hub for the 
transport of goods between Latin America and the United States.
  As the Jamaica Diaspora Conference draws to a close, the United 
States looks forward to seeing new partnerships between the Jamaicans 
and the Jamaican diaspora emerge to further an economic development 
agenda that will result in mutual growth and benefit both our 
countries.

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