The message that Jamaica is still open for business and firmly committed to strengthening business relations with the UK was stridently delivered by the Hon. Michael Stern, State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), at the second staging of the UK-Jamaica Investment Forum today (March 11) in London.

“Now, with the worst of the recession behind us, we want to build upon the foundations laid in Jamaica-UK business relations. Jamaica remains open for business, and we want to do more business with the UK and Europe,” stated Minister Stern in his address to a gathering of UK business interests.

He highlighted the respect that Jamaica has garnered from the global investing community as a highly rated, world-class destination for investment in industries such as tourism and ICT, as evidenced by the country’s inward investment ranking of 21 out of 141 countries in the World Investment Report. Minister Stern also promoted the many lucrative opportunities that await UK and European investors in the areas of agro-processing, agriculture, creative industries and light manufacturing. He also pointed out that Jamaica was aggressively pursuing new and innovative approaches to doing business and has made the national economy more attractive for investments.

“We have our fiscal house in order, we have the economic fundamentals right, we have the enabling business environment, and we have the business partners and the government business support network in place,” said Minister Stern.

He further underpinned Jamaica’s value proposition for investors by speaking to the island’s stable democracy, impressive port facilities, expansive highway network, sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure and first-class workforce. He also outlined benefits to investors such as tax holiday on profits, duty free exemptions on select goods, government-sponsored training programmes and the absence of restriction on the repatriation of foreign currency.

The Minister used the opportunity to position his ministry as Jamaica’s “business ministry”, with an array of services being offered through Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI/JAMPRO), Jamaica Bureau of Standards (JBS) and Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO).

In emphasising the importance of partnership in establishing a “win-win” scenario for Jamaica and overseas investors, Minister Stern identified the export of Brand Jamaica products to the UK market as an area that can be developed for mutual benefit.

“We are looking for partnerships to strengthen our export business, and we are of the firm view that the United Kingdom stands to benefit greatly from increased quality Brand Jamaican products and services.”

The UK-Jamaica Investment Forum, which is organised by JTI/JAMPRO, through its European Regional Office, in association with the London-based Developing Markets Associates (DMA), builds on the momentum of interest in Jamaica from the business community in the UK and mainland Europe, which was sparked by the inaugural staging of the event last February.