Above: Portia Simpson Miller (UN Photo/Luis Roberto Lima)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller concluded her visit to Africa on Tuesday, following meetings with a group of African heads of state.

Simpson Miller, joined by Foreign Minister AJ Nicholson, was attending the 50th anniversary summit of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa.

On Sunday, she met with the Presidents of Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa on issues including airlift, investment and trade, according to a statement from her office.

On Monday, she met with members of the Jamaican Diaspora living in the Ethiopian town of Shashamane, where members of the Rastafarian movement have settled.

The town was created by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1948.

Simpson Miller pointed this week to the “strong links” the country had forged with many African countries.

“Jamaica and indeed the entire Caribbean community are proud of our African heritage,” she said. “The commonality of our shared African history and legacy must now be channelled into tangible projects that will harness the energies of our peoples to build our societies and economies.”
The Prime Minister arrived in Addis Ababa last Friday.