Jamaica PM Addresses Black Caucus on Cuba Relations

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller addresses members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in the US House of Representatives and other senior member of the United States Congress, as well as officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the US Department of State at the Capitol Building in Washington D.C .on Monday (January 26). During her address, Prime Minister Simpson Miller thanked members of the CBC who played a major role in lobbying the IMF in 2012 to negotiate an Agreement with the Government of Jamaica. She also gave an update on the progress of the Jamaican economy, encouraged greater levels of US investments in Jamaica and lauded the move towards normalisation of relations between the USA and Cuba. Listening attentively to the PM are from left Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and Maxine Waters and First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, David Lipton.

News Americas Now, WASHINGTON, DC, Friday, January 30, 2015- Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, says Jamaica’s annual call at the United Nations for the lifting of the embargo against Cuba is likely to be replaced by an even more strident advocacy for international action against trafficking in children, which she said is a global scourge requiring united action.

The Prime Minister was speaking to members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in the United States House of Representatives, other leaders in Congress and the officials of the IMF and the US Department of State at Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., on Monday, January 26.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller’s comments were made in the context of the move by the USA and Cuba to normalise relations between the two countries. The Prime Minister said she expects that the US Congress will give support to the early and total lifting of the US trade embargo against Cuba, which will benefit the people of both the USA and Cuba.

“I have personally congratulated President Obama and President Castro for opening a new chapter in hemispheric relations. Jamaica is of the view that this courageous step will ultimately contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean Basin, in the USA and beyond, particularly when the unilateral embargo against Cuba is finally lifted,” the Prime Minister said.

The Capitol Hill reception for the Prime Minister was attended by several members of Congress including Democratic Whip, Representative Steny Hoyer; Assistant Democratic Leader, James Clyburn; Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, G.K. Butterfield; Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Relations, Charles Rangel; Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Yvette Clarke, Sheila Jackson Lee and Gwen Moore; and Congressmen Danny Davis, Gregory Meeks and Donald Payne Jr. Also in attendance were First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, David Lipton; and representatives of US State Department´s Office of Caribbean Affairs and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.