Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, has hailed as a success, the ministry’s Inaugural European Regional Conference of Jamaican Heads of Mission and Honorary Consuls.

The two-day event, which was themed “Rethinking and Re-positioning Jamaica in Europe”, was held in Brussels, Belgium, from May 26 to 27.

Johnson Smith, in a statement from her ministry, said: “The conference was extremely useful, bringing together 18 Honorary Consuls from across Europe as well as Israel, the permanent secretary, Heads of Mission from Brussels, London, Geneva and Germany, as well as key agencies JAMPRO, JTB and PICA.”

According to the statement, the conference facilitated dialogue with the various representatives of JAMPRO, JTB and PICA providing well-needed information to assist them in carrying out their duties, and also allowed the Honorary Consuls to network with each other and to bridge any gaps between them and their respective Heads of Mission.

“It was a major step forward in our drive to strengthen the government’s practice of economic diplomacy, and allowed us to empower our Honorary Consuls with information on projects and opportunities, as well as guidance in their roles,” the minister continued.

Johnson Smith expressed gratitude to those in attendance and the government agency and teams from the embassy that made the conference a success.

“The ministry was satisfied that it had made good progress in strengthening engagement with Jamaica’s network of Honorary Consuls in Europe and “missioning” them in support of the country’s growth and development objectives, as well as on issues of relevance to Jamaica and the Jamaican Diaspora in Europe,” she said.