Mon | Apr 6, 2026

Gov’t exceeds target for diaspora conference

Published:Monday | June 17, 2024 | 8:40 AM
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith (left) shares a moment with Courtney Campbell, President and CEO of the VM Group; Grace Burnett, CEO of the GK Financial Group; and Claudine Allen, General Manager of the JN Foundation, at a cocktail reception on June 16 as part of activities for the Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in St James. – Contributed photo.

The Government has exceeded its target for registrants of the Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, which is being held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Minister of Foreign and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, has indicated that more than 1,100 persons have registered, exceeding the 1,000 participants the Government was targeting.

She was addressing registrants on Sunday at a welcome cocktail reception to kickstart the event.

The conference continues until Wednesday.

“It is our largest marketplace ever. I feel really moved to celebrate that this continued growing and expanded support of movement by our nationals at home and abroad is something of which we can all collectively be proud,” said Johnson Smith said.

She thanked the diaspora members present and invited them to actively participate in this year's sessions and in nation building.

Expressing similar sentiments while underscoring the theme for the conference, State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, called the conference a significant opportunity for Jamaicans regardless of wherever they reside abroad, to unite for a better Jamaica.

“This conference gives us a chance to reaffirm that regardless of when you left Jamaica… that you remain a part of our community. It is a celebration of our shared heritage and testament to the enduring bonds that unite us across borders,” he said.

This is the 10th staging of the diaspora conference.

The event is being held under the theme 'United for Jamaica's Transformation: Fostering Peace, Productivity and Youth Empowerment'.

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