Ghana to finalize labor export consultations with Jamaica

Ghana is set to conclude technical consultations with Jamaica to begin exporting Ghanaian health workers and teachers to the Caribbean nation this year, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has disclosed.

In a social media update after arriving in Jamaica on Sunday, for what he described as a “two-day official and solidarity visit”, Ablakwa stated that the trip, expected to finalize these technical consultations, will also include bilateral talks with Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, as part of broader “efforts to deepen cooperation between the two countries.”

“During this visit, I shall hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. the Most Honourable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP,” the post stated.

“This official trip is also expected to finalize technical consultations towards the exportation of Ghanaian health workers and teachers to Jamaica this year,” it added.

The Minister further revealed plans to visit and interact directly with troops from the Ghana Armed Forces who have been in Jamaica for about six weeks helping with reconstruction following Hurricane Melissa, and hinted that he “shall be delivering a special message from Ghana’s Commander-in-Chief, H. E. John Dramani Mahama to our soldiers who were drawn from the celebrated 48 Engineer Regiment.”

The planned arrangement with Jamaica fits into a larger trend of labor mobility deals between Ghana and several countries over the past twelve month.

In December last year, Ghana and Qatar officially begun the full implementation of a Ghana-Qatar labor mobility agreement, expanding employment opportunities for Ghanaians in Qatar through a transparent and credible recruitment process, Labour, Jobs, and Employment Minister, Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo previously disclosed.

The agreement, which aims to expand labor export to Qatar to about 50,000 this year, follows a similar deal with Jersey in October last year, after the Minister for Special Initiatives, Emmanuel Agyekum concluded negotiations with the Jersey Chamber of Commerce to facilitate the recruitment of skilled Ghanaians into Jersey’s construction, health, technology, and accountancy sectors.