Jamaica’s Ambassador to america and Everlasting Consultant to the Group of American States (OAS), Main Common (Ret’d) Antony Anderson, delivered Jamaica’s Nationwide Assertion on the fifty fifth Common Session of the OAS Common Meeting, held June 25–27 in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, beneath the theme “Constructing Resilient and Inclusive Economies within the Americas.”
Talking on behalf of Minister of International Affairs and International Commerce, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, Ambassador Anderson emphasised that “constructing resilience isn’t just a coverage aspiration however our lived actuality.” He described Jamaica’s financial transformation over the previous decade as “outstanding,” crediting sustained reforms for enhancing regional stability and enabling extra inclusive financial progress throughout the Americas.
Anderson highlighted Jamaica’s shift from a debt-heavy economic system to a regional success story, noting the nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio had fallen to 68.7 %, down from over 140 %, and that unemployment had reached a file low of three.5 %. “Jamaica’s financial restoration marks a major shift after many years of stagnation,” he stated. “In recent times, we now have lowered public debt and expanded our productive base throughout sectors together with tourism, agriculture, logistics, artistic industries and digital providers.”
Nevertheless, the Ambassador cautioned that these positive factors stay weak to climate-related shocks. “Yearly from June to November, Jamaicans stay with the worry that hard-won socio-economic positive factors could possibly be eradicated with the passage of 1 extreme storm,” he stated, calling for elevated local weather financing and enhanced transboundary cooperation in local weather adaptation.
Anderson additionally reaffirmed Jamaica’s dedication to inclusive improvement, referencing nationwide insurance policies that empower youth, ladies and women, rural communities, and individuals with disabilities. “Development that leaves behind massive segments of our societies is neither simply nor sustainable,” he stated, drawing a transparent hyperlink between social inclusion and financial resilience.
Addressing the disaster in Haiti, the Ambassador reiterated Jamaica’s dedication to peace, stability, and democratic governance within the neighboring nation, noting that over a million Haitians at the moment are internally displaced, together with almost 60,000 in latest weeks. He stated Jamaica has already deployed a 25-member contingent from the armed forces to affix the Caribbean Group (CARICOM) Joint Process Drive as a part of the Kenya-led Multinational Safety Assist Mission (MSS) — a transfer that comes as Jamaica prepares to imagine chairmanship of the CARICOM Convention of Heads of Authorities on July 1.
“We owe it to current and future generations to behave decisively,” Anderson declared, urging better assist to sort out the multidimensional disaster in Haiti and the broader menace of transnational organized crime, significantly the trafficking of firearms in change for meals and medicines.
He concluded by stressing the enduring significance of the OAS, saying: “Now greater than ever, the Group of American States is required to safe peace and justice, promote solidarity, strengthen collaboration, and defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States.” Jamaica, he affirmed, stays dedicated to working constructively with different Member States to attain the shared imaginative and prescient for a extra affluent hemisphere.
The three-day meeting was notable for being the primary OAS Common Meeting held within the Caribbean in over 20 years, and the primary beneath Secretary-Common Albert Ramdin — the primary CARICOM nationwide to carry the publish for the reason that Group’s founding greater than 70 years in the past.
Ambassador Anderson was formally accredited to the OAS on June 18, 2025.
