Jamaica to send 38-company trade team to Ghana in July, minister says

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith has confirmed that Jamaica will send a trade delegation of 38 companies to Ghana in July.

She made the disclosure on the final day of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay. Industry and Investment Minister Aubyn Hill will lead the group, which will also feature senior representatives from the Special Economic Zone Authority and JAMPRO. Those officials are slated to meet Ghanaian investors, distributors and private-sector operators during the visit.

Johnson Smith framed the mission as the latest step in a sustained push to deepen commerce between Kingston and Accra. She said the operating environment for Jamaican firms in Ghana has become noticeably stronger, even though previous efforts to break into that market fell short of expectations.

The upcoming trip comes after the third meeting of the Jamaica-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation, which convened in Accra in May. That session marked the commission's first sitting in about 20 years.

Ghanaian outlet GBC Ghana Online reported that Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, used the Accra talks to urge both countries to shift from symbolic engagement toward partnerships that deliver measurable economic gains. The broadcaster said Ablakwa pointed to instructions from President John Dramani Mahama directing the team preparing Ghana Airways' relaunch to treat a Caribbean service as a priority once flights resume.

GBC Ghana Online also said Ablakwa raised the prospect of each nation establishing a resident diplomatic mission in the other, arguing that such representation is long overdue. He linked growing movement between the two states to the 2019 removal of visa requirements for travel between Ghana and Jamaica.

Addressing the diaspora gathering, Johnson Smith said negotiations continue on an air services arrangement connecting Kingston and Accra. She noted that Accra has its own reasons to back the route, including plans to restore Ghana Airways and to expand trade outside the scope of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

She said the May commission session in Accra also yielded tangible outcomes, including fresh health and defence agreements. One health accord sets the stage for Ghanaian medical personnel to work in Jamaica, while sports and culture cooperation was updated under a revised pact.

Morris Sinclair, founder and head of the AfriCaricom Alliance, told the conference that he is developing a 2027 programme aimed at helping Caribbean nationals trace Ghanaian ancestry and build business connections aligned with Ghana's 70th independence anniversary.

Taken together, the planned trade visit, aviation discussions and cultural initiatives suggest the Jamaica-Ghana relationship is moving into practical areas spanning investment, travel and people-to-people exchange.