Press Releases
Foreign Minister IWAYA’s Meeting with the Most Honourable Mrs. Juliet Holness, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jamaica
February 5, 2025
On February 5, commencing at 1:30 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Mr. IWAYA Takeshi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, received a courtesy call from the Most Honourable Mrs. Juliet Holness, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jamaica, who is visiting Japan upon invitation from the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan. The overview is as follows.
- At the outset, Minister Iwaya welcomed Speaker Holness’s visit to Japan, and stated his hope to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations last year.
- Minister Iwaya also stated that Japan and Jamaica have been deepening bilateral cooperation in the areas of maritime affairs, defense, culture, as well as in international fora, and expressed Japan’s intention to cooperate with Jamaica to develop the global partnership between the two countries.
- Speaker Holness expressed her honor at being the first Speaker of the House of Representatives of Jamaica to make an official visit to Japan, and stated that this visit will kickstart the enhancement of bilateral relations in various areas, including collaboration at the parliamentary level. The two sides concurred on continuing to work together not only bilaterally but also on common challenges including climate change, as partners that share the same values.
(Reference) Basic data of Jamaica
Jamaica covers an area of approximately 10,990 square kilometers (about the same size as Gifu Prefecture), and has a population of 2.83 million people (World Bank, 2022) and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of 5,670 U.S. dollars (World Bank, 2022).