Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, says Jamaica’s annual call at the United Nations for the lifting of the embargo against Cuba is likely to be replaced by an even more strident advocacy for international action against trafficking in children, which she said is a global scourge requiring united action.
The Prime Minister was speaking to members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in the United States House of Representatives, other leaders in Congress and the officials of the IMF and the US Department of State at Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C., on Monday, January 26.
Prime Minister Simpson Miller’s comments were made in the context of the move by the USA and Cuba to normalise relations between the two countries. The Prime Minister said she expects that the US Congress will give support to the early and total lifting of the US trade embargo against Cuba, which will benefit the people of both the USA and Cuba.
“I have personally congratulated President Obama and President Castro for opening a new chapter in hemispheric relations. Jamaica is of the view that this courageous step will ultimately contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean Basin, in the USA and beyond, particularly when the unilateral embargo against Cuba is finally lifted,” the Prime Minister said.
The Capitol Hill reception for the Prime Minister was attended by several members of Congress including Democratic Whip, Representative Steny Hoyer; Assistant Democratic Leader, James Clyburn; Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, G.K. Butterfield; Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Relations, Charles Rangel; Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Yvette Clarke, Sheila Jackson Lee and Gwen Moore; and Congressmen Danny Davis, Gregory Meeks and Donald Payne Jr. Also in attendance were First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, David Lipton; and representatives of US State Department´s Office of Caribbean Affairs and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
SOURCE: News Americas Now
