Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray concluded his two-day tour of the Caribbean today in Jamaica.  In Kingston, he met with Prime Minister Andrew Holness, discussing the excellent political dialogue that characterizes the bilateral relationship and which has led to more cooperation, trade and investment between the two nations.

Foreign Secretary Videgaray also met with his Jamaican counterpart, Kamina Johnson Smith, to review the main issues on the bilateral and international agendas.

In the meeting, both officials highlighted the progress made by the technical-scientific and educational-cultural cooperation programs, and welcomed this year's inauguration of the Mexico Chair at the University of the West Indies (UWI), the first program of this sort in an English-speaking Caribbean country.

Foreign Secretary Videgaray said that both Mexico and Jamaica share a vision, values ​​and ideas and that both nations have committed to work on strengthening cooperation. "We want to do more business with Jamaica and find ways to create more jobs for the citizens of both nations," he said.

He further said that Mexico and Jamaica face common challenges, and could be more effective working together.

In this regard, he expressed his regret that the Caribbean is one of the regions most affected by climate change. "The world has an obligation to the Caribbean," he said, expressing his desire to work with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Jamaica on resilient infrastructure and climate change adaptation mechanisms.

"The Caribbean is a region that produces a very small fraction of polluting emissions but has been significantly affected by climate change. Storms and hurricanes will continue to hit the Caribbean, which plays very little part in causing this problem. The important climate change issue for the region is not to reduce emissions but to create resilience and adapt to climate change. That is why we are working with CARICOM and especially with Jamaica to promote initiatives for more resilient infrastructure. These are projects that require a significant investment. Mexico wants to be part of this effort, together with other international partners, and we will continue working with Jamaica and the rest of CARICOM on this issue.  This is something that President Enrique Peña Nieto has asked us to do and I want to fulfill that commitment," he said.

During the meeting with Johnson Smith, "we worked on various issues, all of which are important. We have been working on issues such as agriculture, education and security, and one of the most important issues was that of language, because the Jamaican government wants more Jamaicans to speak Spanish in the same way that we want more Mexicans to learn English."

He went on to say: "There are many reasons why we are here, but the most important is that we are friends."

Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, said that Secretary Videgaray's visit is proof of the strong relationship between Mexico and Jamaica. She said that this tie is being strengthened on many fronts and is based on an important bilateral program that demonstrates the commitment of our country with the societies of both nations, as well as Mexico's strong ties to the members of the Caribbean Community.

The Jamaican Minister called Mexico a political and economic leader internationally, saying: "Jamaica welcomes and supports Mexico's leadership in pursuit of building a stable, secure, peaceful and prosperous hemisphere."

She explained that during her meeting with Foreign Secretary Videgaray, they agreed to work together to strengthen bilateral trade and investment and to promote development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Foreign Secretary subsequently met with Andrew Wheatley, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology. They witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP) and PetroJam (Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica) to find business opportunities in the hydrocarbon and renewable energy sectors in both countries, among other goals. It was also announced that the National Bank of Foreign Trade (Bancomext) is exploring the possibility of granting financial support for technical assistance, training and purchases for infrastructure projects in Jamaica.

Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray also met with representatives of the Economic Council of Jamaica and JAMPRO (a foreign direct investment promotion agency) in order to encourage trade and reciprocal investments with CARICOM's second largest economy and one of the region's main destinations for Mexican investments. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the recent entry into force of the double taxation and fiscal evasion agreement, which will improve the business environment.

Foreign Secretary Videgaray also met with executives of the main Mexican companies in Jamaica, including Cemex, Caribbean Cement Company Limited, Trinidad Cement Limited, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, Palace Resorts Group, AM Resorts, Secrets and Breathless Resorts, Dolphin Cove and Red Stripe, to discuss the significant level of Mexican investment there.

Lastly, the Foreign Secretary visited the Mexican embassy in Jamaica to thank the staff for their diplomatic and consular work, as well as for their dedication and effort.