Above: Kingston (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Jamaica and South Africa are planning to deepen their collaboration in the areas of science and technology.

The two sides first signed an agreement on scientific and technological cooperation last year, and the two sides are now planning to work together in areas including biotechnology, renewable energy, the popularization of science and the science and technology behind Jamaica’s proposed logistics hub.

The two countries held the first-ever meeting of the Jamaica-South Africa Joint Committee on Science and Technology on Monday, with a particular emphasis on the growing area of “nutraceuticals,” or nutrients and dietary supplements.

“We would not wish the rest of the world to overtake us with respect to either the research or the products or the indigenous materials that we have, that can make a difference to the rest of the world,” said Hilary Alexander, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Technology, Energy and Mining, who said the area was a “growing business.”

South Africa’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Mathu Joyini, said Jamaica had been a very strong ally historically, something that would continue in scientific collaboration.

“We are leveraging that relationship to explore other areas that can benefit our two countries, and science and technology is one of them,” she said. “I’m quite confident that there is so much that we can learn from [Jamaica] and there is so much that we can share from our side. I’m just happy that we are starting this process.”