A delegation from this country led by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran arrived in Jamaica yesterday afternoon for two days of talks over the free movement of Jamaicans into T&T. They are scheduled to meet with Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator AJ Nicholson.
Dookeran was invited for talks after 13 Jamaicans were denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago on November 21. The move has sparked strong public outrage in Jamaica with at least one campaign launched calling for a boycott of T&T goods.
Nicholson said the resulting discontent had the potential of undermining confidence and diminishing goodwill on the part of many Jamaicans towards T&T and the wider regional integration movement. He said personal intervention and collaboration can go a far way in bringing this issue to a speedy and successful conclusion of the matter.
Discussions will include hassle-free travel as stipulated in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and implications of the Caribbean Court of Justice ruling in the Shanique Myrie case, as well as the treatment of Jamaicans by immigration officials and the conditions under which Jamaicans are accommodated.Consular representation, the appeals process, and the movement of Jamaican skilled nationals into T&T are also on the agenda.