Thursday, May 08, 2008
JAMAICA and Cuba have agreed to collaborate in the areas of agriculture,
health, tourism, water resources and housing, Prime Minister Bruce
Golding told reporters in Kingston yesterday.
The prime minister, who was speaking at a press conference at the Norman
Manley International Airport, shortly after he and members of his team
arrived from an official visit to Cuba, said frameworks in the
respective areas will require follow-up work on both sides to hammer out
the finer details.
He said, however, that in the area of agriculture, Christopher Tufton,
Jamaica's agriculture minister, had already held discussions with his
Cuban counterpart and looked at some of the agricultural projects which
can be replicated in Jamaica. The discussions, Golding said, also
included the significant levels of technical assistance Cuba was willing
to provide, particularly in the area of greenhouse technology and ways
of enhancing its effectiveness here in Jamaica.
In addition, Tufton is also negotiating for Cuban extension officers to
be sent to assist farmers in Jamaica.
On the issue of health, the prime minister said Health Minister Ruddy
Spencer would be returning to Cuba with a technical team from his
ministry to look at the expansion of health services offered to
Jamaicans by the Cubans.
The prime minister said while he was not prepared to discuss the details
of that arrangement just yet, it would seek to address two critical
areas of health provision.
On tourism, Golding said Jamaica was seeking to return assistance to
Cuba through the area of tourism collaboration which would result in
multiple destination promotion by both countries.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett told the Observer he would be providing
further details on this arrangement when he speaks in the sectoral
debate in Parliament next week.
Meanwhile, the water and housing minister, Horace Chang, signed off on
two memorandum of understanding to address the issue of water resource
management and the provision of shelter in squatter settlements.
However, even as Golding made the announcement about the partnership in
the five areas, he gave a commitment to encourage the American
Government to pursue a path of constructive engagement with the Cuban
Government similar to what has been adapted with communist China and
Vietnam.
He said the US was prepared to engage constructively with China and
Vietnam and the time has come for constructive engagement with Cuba.
"We gave them (Cuban Government) an assurance that not only would we
continue to support that view, but that we would use whatever influence
we have, however limited, to seek to encourage and influence the
thinking of the US Government towards a different approach to Cuba,"
Golding said.
He said there were clear signs that Cuba was moving on a path of reform
since Raul Castro assumed presidency. "Some very significant initiative
has been taken and we believe it is something that ought to be
encouraged," said Golding.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario