Kingston, 1 October 2022 (TDI): The Minister of State for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, James Heappey visited Jamaica.
During this visit, James Heappey met with Zavia Mayne and Dr. Horace A Chang, Ministers for National Security.
Visiting Jamaica this week, Armed Forces Minister @JSHeappey reinforced our shared commitment to the security of the Caribbean and discussed continued cooperation on disaster relief, countering serious and organised crime, and force development. 🇬🇧 🇯🇲 pic.twitter.com/s58gTE8ou5
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) September 30, 2022
The meeting was related to the security in the Caribbean region, cooperation on disaster relief, and countering crimes.
In addition to this, force development was an influential agenda and for that purpose, Armed Forces Minister met with the recruits and observed the training of recruits in the Jamaican Defense Force under the Initial Officer Training Program.
Jamaica Defence Force
The Jamaica Defence Force is a combined military of Jamaica based on the British Military model. The training, weapon, organization, and tradition of JDF are similar to the British military, as it is descended from one of the British regiments during their rule.
Jamaica Defense Force is divided into different service branches including maritime, air, cyber command, national reserve, and support brigade.
The Initial Training Program of the Jamaica Defence Force is conducted to train recruits for the service.
Jamaica and United Kingdom relations
Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm in 1962. The state had King Charles III as its constitutional monarch, after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
UK and Jamaica share close bilateral relations, as relations with the Caribbean nations are an important agenda of the UK. The close ties with the United Kingdom have been of prime importance for Jamaica at political, defense, commercial, and personal levels.
Also read: UK’s High Commissioner to Jamaica presented credentials
The policy statement of the United Kingdom towards the Caribbean region was made public at the 10th UK-Caribbean forum, this year in march.
The documents that are related to the UK-Caribbean relation indicate the shared concerns over changing geopolitical order, economic order, climate change, and security. Jamaica in this regard is an important country in the Caribbean region.
