India and Jamaica are playing an important role in the strengthening of bilateral trade between Tamilnadu and Jamaica. The office of the Latin American Caribbean Trade Council (LACTC) was inaugurated in Chennai by the High Commissioner of Jamaica in India His Excellency Mr. Jason Hall with the President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization (IETO) Dr. Asif Iqbal and the Chairman of the Tamilnadu Chapter. India and Jamaica have traditionally experienced cordial and friendly relations as a result of cultural and political connections inherited from British colonisation, such as membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, parliamentary democracy, the English language and cricket.
Both nations are members of the Non-Aligned Movement, and Jamaica supports India’s candidacy for permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council. Bilateral trade has been increasing at a healthy rate, from US$ 28.28 million in 2011-12 to over US$ 64 million in 2019-20. In 2021, the total bilateral trade was US$ 66.29 million with India’s exports worth US$ 64.06 million, and India’s imports from Jamaica were valued at US$ 2.23 million.
Both countries are members of multilateral and international organizations like NAM, G-77, WIPO, UN and its various subsidiary bodies. As developing nations, India and Jamaica share similar concerns and have common aspirations for economic growth, promotion of equity, eradication of poverty, and improvement in the quality of life of their citizens. Convergence of views and consistent cooperation in various multilateral fora are major factors which reinforce India-Jamaica relations.
The only dialogue mechanism between India and Jamaica is the Foreign Office Consultation (FOC). Under this mechanism, 5 rounds of meetings have been held so far; three rounds in Kingston (2001, 2005, 2011) and two in New Delhi (2007 and October 2017). The fifth and the latest meeting of FOC held in October 2017 in New Delhi reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political and economic relations, technical and development cooperation, as well as cooperation in regional and multilateral fora.
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