Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says investment interest from the Middle East is growing in the Caribbean.
“I was able to have discussions with partners, whom I brought here earlier this year, and they are reviewing how they look at the Caribbean in terms of supporting the region with investments,” Mr. Bartlett said.
He noted that, traditionally, countries focused on creating loans and aid “which take an eternity to happen, but the thinking now is that they want to support the Caribbean with investment. So, a special investment fund is being established for the Caribbean”.
He informed that early in July “over 40 of them [potential Middle East investors] are likely to be in the Caribbean, and Jamaica is inserted in that process, so we must get our projects together and go and have discussions with those investors”.
Minister Bartlett was closing the 2022/23 Sectoral debate in the House of Representatives on June 14.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bartlett said that Emirates Airlines, the largest airline in the Gulf Coast countries, is selling seats to Jamaica.
“This arrangement, a historic first for Jamaica and the Caribbean, opens gateways from the Middle East, Asia and Africa to our island and the rest of the region,” he noted.