BMWORLDWIDE–WASHINGTON-One of the many firsts for Vice President Kamala Harris is her Jamaican heritage

.Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told her during a visit to the White House, “…let me say that you have been a source of inspiration and great pride for many Caribbean people — in particular, our young women in the region.  And we are, indeed, seeing an increase in the political participation of young women.  And this diversity in the political space will augur well for the — for the region.”

Holness’ visit was six decades in the making.  “This visit takes place in the context of Jamaica celebrating 60 years of independence and 60 years of diplomatic relations with the United States.  The United States was one of the first countries to recognize newly independent Jamaica, and we have had a very strong relationship since,” he added.The prime minister summarized his talks with the vice president: “On the economic development front, we reiterated that we would welcome refocused attention on Jamaica in areas of security, energy capacity building, infrastructure, and nearshore digital technology hubs.”

Harris announced the U.S. is “investing $20 million to assist in the strengthening and the expansion of Jamaica’s commerce in a way that we fully intend will have an impact in strengthening the economy of Jamaica and drive economic growth.”   She also described an additional $10 million focused on developing youth.

Climate change is a imminent issue for island natons of the Caribbean.

“We also discussed quite extensively the impact of the climate crisis on island nations and, in particular, on Jamaica.  We discussed — and from my perspective, I recognize and we recognize that the world’s emissions have an outsized effect in the Caribbean, including on Jamaica.  And I thanked the Prime Minister for his leadership in that regard.  And we are eager to partner with the Prime Minister on what we can do to invest and prioritize climate resilience, but also an investment in renewable energies, understanding that this is about energy sources, and it is also about human capital and development and supporting the economy there. “