Ghana will deploy about 400 nurses to Jamaica under a new bilateral agreement, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced on Sunday, as the two nations revive long dormant cooperation.
Ablakwa said the arrangement emerged from the third session of the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC), which he disclosed in a Facebook post. The session was held in Accra after a 21-year hiatus since the last meeting in Kingston in 2005.
The minister said Ghana and Jamaica also signed agreements on defence cooperation and tourism, and agreed to conclude talks on deploying Ghanaian teachers to Jamaica by August. He framed the deals as proof that Ghanaian professionals were “in high demand all over the world.”
Ablakwa praised his Jamaican counterpart, Kamina Johnson Smith, for leading a senior delegation to Accra, and congratulated her on a decade in office, describing her as the world’s longest serving female foreign minister.
He linked the warming ties to deep historical bonds. Ablakwa commended Jamaica for co-sponsoring Ghana’s United Nations resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity, which was adopted with 123 votes. He also noted Jamaica’s gratitude for Ghana’s relief support after Hurricane Melissa, when Ghanaian soldiers and supplies aided recovery recovery efforts.
The minister further revealed that Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness had invited President John Dramani Mahama to serve as guest of honour at this year’s Jamaican National Day celebrations, calling the renewed momentum between the two countries encouraging.
