Top US official in Jamaica for ‘strategic dialogue’

WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, is in Jamaica to lead “strategic dialogues and bilateral engagements”, the  US Department of State has said in a statement.

It said that Nuland will also travel to Ecuador and Colombia during the visit to the region that ends on Friday.

Nuland will on Tuesday meet with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, and participate in the US-Jamaica Strategic Dialogue “to highlight bilateral opportunities for enhancing trade and investment, strengthening regional security, combating transnational criminal organisation's, and tackling climate change.

“In addition, Under Secretary Nuland, Canadian, and CARICOM leaders will convene a virtual meeting to discuss Haiti,” the State Department added.

On Wednesday, in Quito, Ecuador, Nuland will meet with President Guillermo Lasso and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguin and sign an Open Skies Agreement, “paving the way for more bilateral travel, trade, job creation, and economic growth.”

The top US official, on Thursday and Friday, in Bogotá and Cartagena, Colombia, will meet with President Gustavo Petro and Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva and participate in the closing ceremony for the visit of the hospital ship USNS Comfort.

“These engagements will focus on shared priorities including regional security, strong democratic institutions, the socioeconomic and political inclusion of Afro-Colombian and indigenous persons, and the continued importance of implementing the 2016 Peace Accord,” the State Department said.

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