Jamaica and Guyana sign cooperation pacts on agriculture, defence, and finance

The governments of Jamaica and Guyana have formalised a deeper bilateral partnership through a protocol and three memoranda of understanding covering agriculture, defence and security, and financial services.

Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, signed for Kingston. Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation signed on behalf of Georgetown.

The protocol amends the 1995 agreement on economic, technical, and cultural cooperation. It updates that framework to include collaboration in energy, defence and security, financial services and capital markets, disaster response and recovery, climate-resilient housing and infrastructure, and science, technology, and innovation.

The agriculture memorandum aims to strengthen cooperation on food and nutrition security through a strategic partnership for both countries and the wider Caribbean. Focus areas include institutional and human resource development, research, innovation, education and extension, trade facilitation, and advancing the CARICOM 25 by 25 + 5 initiative.

The defence and security MOU between the Guyana Defence Force and the Jamaica Defence Force sets out capacity building, information exchange, bilateral consultations, and exploration of participation in multinational operations supporting international stability.

The financial services agreement promotes cooperation on financial infrastructure, modernisation of the sector, and institutional strengthening and capacity building.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the signings captured only part of a broader engagement covering energy, security, tourism, financial services, agriculture, housing, and regional diplomacy. He described strong alignment between the two countries and noted visits beyond Georgetown, including Kuroro Falls.

Guyana’s president said implementation had already begun across areas such as governance, energy, tourism, financial services, security, education, housing, and healthcare. He welcomed Jamaica as the newest member of the Global Biodiversity Alliance and praised Jamaica’s work on security.

Holness also addressed food security, noting Guyana’s agro-parks and processing facilities and the need for regional value creation, financing, and transport linkages. He said Jamaica’s unemployment rate had fallen from about 13% to 3.6% over the past decade and raised structured labour mobility to support Guyana’s growing construction sector.