JAMAICA | Jamaica's Resilience building gets US Million dollar boost from Gov't of India

KINGSTON, Jamaica, November 2, 2021 - The Government of Jamaica is to receive a US$1 million grant from the Government of India to boost its resilience building efforts.

Speaking today during the launch of the High-Level Event, infrastructure for resilient island states, Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked his counterpart in India Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his support to Jamaica.

 Prime Minister Holness welcomed the launch of the Infrastructure for resilient island states which he says is important as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are at the frontline of the climate crisis.

“As we all know, a single disaster can derail the entire budget of a small island and set its economy back by years, reducing fiscal space to finance climate adaptation and resilience efforts. We, therefore, welcome this much needed initiative that reflects our own thinking around the pivotal role played by infrastructure in building resilience,” said Holness.

The Prime Minister announced that Jamaica will become the first country in the world to develop a predictive climate risk assessment planning tool for major infrastructure investments. He says this is part of the country’s national strategy which includes development partners and the private sector.

Prime Minister Holness used the opportunity to gain support for other such resilient projects and expressed gratitude to the co-convenors of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

“I thank the co-convenors for their leadership in building this critical and practical coalition to advance the development of climate-resilient infrastructure. This is at the heart of building economic resilience in SIDS,”said Holness.