Jamaica and Montserrat sign MOU for Technical Assistance and Co-operation

The MOU was signed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the Chief Minister of Montserrat, Dr Lowell Lewis during a one-day visit to that island by Mr Golding and members of the Jamaican delegation which was in Antigua attending the 29th regular meeting of the conference of heads of government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Speaking at a press conference following the signing, Mr Golding said that on his return to Jamaica, he would be assembling a high level team that would include representatives of the Urban Development Corporation, the Port Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, the Jamaica Business Development Centre, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, and the Sports Development Foundation. This team will visit Montserrat towards the end of July to carry out a study of specific services to be provided to the island which was devastated by volcano in 1995.

Mr Golding said when he was invited to visit Montserrat, he was expecting to see a people struggling against the odds, still overwhelmed by disaster and destruction. Instead, he said he found life, energy, determination, vision and hope. ‘If there’s a country or a people that could be held up as a template to the rest of the world as to how to recover from disaster, it is the country and people of Montserrat’, Mr Golding said.

Montserrat’s Chief Minister Dr Lewis, welcomed the Jamaican delegation, noting that the people of Montserrat were proud to show how they were rebuilding their country following the destruction of the volcano. ‘We wanted you to witness our resilience and our ability to fight so that you can spread the word to the rest of the world that Montserrat is open for business and will make it’, he said.

Tourism Minister, Ed Bartlett gave his Ministry’s commitment that Jamaica would share its skills and expertise in helping Montserrat to rebuild and market its tourism product.

Mr Golding also had the opportunity to meet with Jamaicans in Montserrat and to update them on several government policies. He also addressed their concerns about providing them with a honourary consul to represent the Jamaican Community in Montserrat.

The Jamaican delegation was taken on a tour of the areas devastated by the Volcano of 1995 as well as the new sections of the island being rebuilt through funds provided by Caricom, the European Union, and the governments of British and Japan.