Holness: Access, statecraft key in ‘new era of diplomacy'; no 'ideological fantasies' for Jamaica

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says Jamaica must prioritise economic independence and strategic statecraft in a "new era of diplomacy”.

“It's a new era of diplomacy. It's a new era of geopolitics,” he said Tuesday at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s 21st Regional Investments & Capital Markets Conference in St Andrew. “The old era, which some people are still stuck in, and how they see the world and how they expect the world to respond to them, could not survive in today's world.”

Holness also told the gathering of many of the country's business leaders that his administration will not engage in “ideological fantasies” that could threaten their investments and damage the country's economic survival.

“You can be assured that we are not going to wander off into political fantasies that put your investments at risk, because no matter what, there is an inextricable link between politics and economics,” he said.

The prime minister’s address comes amid heightened international attention on geopolitical shifts in CARICOM and the wider Americas, including the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by United States forces. The Opposition People’s National Party and some foreign policy observers have pushed for an assertive stance on the rule of law from the Holness administration and other CARICOM member states.

Holness has steered clear of mentioning specific events though he acknowledged that "we are in the midst of a highly unsettled geopolitical and geo-economic environment... where trade relationships are being reshaped, where strategic disputes have intensified and even long-standing alliances are under strain".

He argued Tuesday that his administration would always place Jamaica’s best interests at the forefront on the international stage because for many years “Jamaica has been diverted into all kinds of ideological fantasies that resulted in us wandering in the wilderness of economic despair.”

“We will not do that again,” he said to applause. “For us, pursuing economic independence ultimately will result in your political independence.”

Earlier he said, "There is a generation that still thinks about political independence. What I am struggling for is Jamaica's economic independence. You can talk all you want about your political independence. At some point, you have to be able to back it up with your economic independence."

According to Holness, Jamaica “must always have access, and we must always be at the table. It's not always going to go our way, but we must always have access.”

He added: “We must always be able, at some way, some level, to have the proper exercise of statecraft to exert influence through various forms of power. Even small countries have power. Some people just don't understand the new statecraft as to how you exert that and how you use that,” Holness continued.

The prime minister highlighted Jamaica’s recent securing of US$6.7 billion in financing for Hurricane Melissa recovery, a package he argued reflects the country’s credibility and strong institutions.

“Now, I can hear the cynics saying, ‘but those are loans; some of it would be grants,’” he added. “But the real secret is access to low‑cost financing with very little conditionalities. In fact, conditionalities which align to the things that we have to do and should be doing and are doing anyway.”

He added: “If this had happened 30 years ago, the cost of the financing would put us in a debt trap, and then we would turn around and say, you know, the international community created a dead trap for us. I know it sounds harsh, and I'm expecting the critics to come out of the woodwork tomorrow. I'm ready for them.”

In a commentary on the Maduro operation ordered by US President Donald Trump, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding said it represented a rapidly shifting and increasingly aggressive global order driven by Trump‑era policies. According to Golding, the muted global response reflects fear and geopolitical dependence and places CARICOM governments in a “vice.” “Taking a principled stance against Trump’s rampaging would almost certainly invite retribution… We are between a rock and a hard place,” he wrote in the Jamaica Observer.

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