Above: India (Photo: IT)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) recently invited tenders for representatives in China and India, as the country hopes to capitalize on its proximity to the United States to promote investment.

“We feel that Jamaica’s near-shore advantage to the US is going to be of interest to Indian firms,” said Sancia Bennett-Templer, president of JAMPRO, who was speaking at a JIS Think Tank session.

The country has already seen growth investment from abroad, particularly Spain and China, the latter of which made a signifiant investment in Jamaica’s sugar sector.

The Asia-Pacific market is actually the largest destination for Latin American and Caribbean products, according to data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

A report by the organization in December said there was “significant” potential for the Caribbean in the Indian market in the medium term.

Part of Jamaica’s strategy will be placing representatives in particular countries of interest, she said, in order to create a more targeted approach.

“We are saying, ‘who are the countries that are investing elsewhere in the region that are not currently in Jamaica and how do we identify and target those countries, get in those boardrooms, and seek to position Jamaica with those firms and attract them to come here to Jamaica,” she said.

Jamaica will not be alone in the region in looking to India. In November, India and Trinidad held their first-ever Joint Commission, and in January, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made an official visit to the country.

The two states signed a series of cooperation agreements during the visit, in areas including air transport, culture, and technical cooperation.