KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller on Tuesday sought to justify her overseas travels saying that seeking opportunities for trade and partnerships with other countries is integral to getting investments for the country.
The prime minister was making her presentation to the 2014/2015 Budget Debate in Gordon House.
Simpson Miller said that she made a trip to Spain in 2007, and in March this year, Spain’s Hospiten Group invested US$20 million for the construction of a highly specialised general hospital at Cinnamon Hill, Rose Hall in St James.
The prime minister said that when the Hospiten Group made the announcement in March, it was also highlighted that they decided to invest in the country because, when the prime minister visited Spain, she had raised the possibility for them to build a hospital in Jamaica.
“When you don’t see me, I am working, working, working,” Simpson Miller reiterated.
The medical facility, which is expected to be completed within a year, is expected to provide services for residents of the North Coast area, as well as for visitors to the island.
Simpson Miller added that she was supposed to be in Mexico, but because of her presentation in the 2014 Budget Debate she was unable to make the trip.
“The president of Mexico will be sending his plane for me tomorrow,” Simpson Miller told the House.
