The Minister said it would be foolhardy for Jamaicans who live at home, including the Government, “to attempt to ignore the skills and the expertise that exist within the Diaspora.”

“The expertise that resides in the Diaspora is perhaps far more, far wider than the expertise and the skills that reside in the people who live within Jamaica,” he added.

Senator Nicholson said the framework, which is a work in progress, was established under the administration of former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, to partner with the Diaspora community.

Minister Nicholson was a guest at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’, held on April 2 at the agency’s head office.

Discussions focused on the upcoming Jamaica Diaspora Conference, to be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from June 13 – 18, 2015, under the theme: ‘Jamaica and the Diaspora: Linking for Growth and Prosperity’.

The Minister cited the financial contribution to the economy by members of the Diaspora, through the remittances sent home and also the investment projects undertaken by the Diaspora.

“The Minister of Finance and Planning and his team look forward to these remittances, even though it doesn’t come directly to them, but it goes to family and friends and it is a very signal part of our foreign exchange flows into Jamaica,” he said.

He mentioned, too, the Diaspora’s contributions to Jamaica’s health and education facilities as well as cultural activities. The Minister said the Diaspora community is also an important part of ‘Brand Jamaica’.