Dr Juan Antonio Blanco
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Executive Director of the Center for Latin America and Caribbean Initiatives at Miami Dade College and former Cuban Diplomat Dr Juan Antonio Blanco,
said Saturday that Jamaica has nothing to fear from the latest developments between the United States and Cuba unless Jamaica fails to plan.
He gave the keynote address at a high-level forum titled “Cuba Open for Business: Investment Opportunities and Prospects for Partnerships” put on by the Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM) in partnership the UWI’s Department of Government.
A release from the MSBM quoted Blanco saying: “We need to approach this change with an open mind so that we can foster “win win” situations. Jamaica shouldn’t have a fear of perceived Tourism issues in the short term forecast. What we (Jamaica) need to do is plan strategically for the long haul by creating partnerships with Cuba to facilitate ‘win win’ opportunities.”
The Cuban foreign policy expert highlighted that the unwillingness of the US and the world’s banking systems to operate out of Cuba has a very real potential set back, the release added. “Without the banking systems cooperation, development won’t strive,” Blanco said.
He also charged the University, the public and private sector with creating a task force which will create policies and ways of cooperating – “thinking outside of the box” which will result in mutual benefits being gained.
