Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, has spearheaded discussions with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to explore new avenues of development cooperation, with a focus on strengthening tourism training, education and health infrastructure across the island. Discussions included post Hurricane Melissa reconstruction under the Minister’s Tourism 3.0 strategic reimagining of the sector.
The Saudi Fund for Development is a Saudi Arabian government agency that provides development assistance to developing countries by financing social and infrastructure projects. The global agency has supported over USD20 billion in funding across 741 projects. The talks form part of Jamaica’s ongoing strategy to attract more partnerships that support human capital development and critical infrastructure, in keeping with the country’s broader tourism linkages and sustainable development agenda.
The Minister welcomed the exploratory discussions, noting that they reflect Jamaica’s commitment to building diverse, mutually beneficial partnerships that extend beyond tourism to touch the everyday lives of Jamaicans and communities.
“Jamaica continues to seek partnerships that translate tourism’s success into tangible benefits for our people — in the classrooms where our children learn, in the hospitals where our families are cared for, and in the training institutions that prepare our workforce for the future. Our proposed engagement with the Saudi Fund for Development represents exactly this kind of forward-looking cooperation.”
The discussions, led by Minister Bartlett alongside Jamaican tourism officials and representatives of the Saudi Fund for Development, centred on identifying priority areas where SFD’s financing model — historically focused on infrastructure, education, health and productive sectors across developing economies — could align with Jamaica’s national development priorities.
A key pillar of this proposed cooperation is human capital development within Jamaica’s tourism sector, the largest contributor to the island’s foreign exchange earnings and employment. “Jamaica’s tourism thrives on the creativity and passion of our workforce and so we must invest in our human capital as we continue to future proof the sector,” added the Minister.
Director of Tourism, Donovan White, noted that the potential collaboration underscores the interconnected nature of tourism development and national wellbeing that places a focus on a well-trained workforce and strong supporting social infrastructure.
Following the Minister’s push for expanded cooperation, both parties have agreed to continue high level technical discussions to further scope areas of collaboration. This will include meetings with Saudi Eskab, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center and proposed technical visit with Senior members of the SDF to Jamaica to identify and assess gaps and opportunities.
