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BELGIAN DELEGATION VISITS MTW

Minister Mike Henry (left) greeting members of the Belgian delegation.

A Belgian delegation led by Ambassador Frederic Meurice visited Minister Mike Henry on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at his Maxfield Avenue Office. The group was part of a wider trade and economic mission which had been visiting Jamaica between November 30 and December 1.

A number of issues were discussed during the meeting, all of which are expected to strengthen the ties between Jamaica and Belgium. One such issue was the involvement of the Belgians in the Jamaican transportation sector, in particular the JUTC. This follows a preparatory mission to Jamaica by the Belgians last September during which discussions took place with the management of JUTC. At that time, JUTC expressed an interest in technical assistance that could be offered to improve management techniques at the company.

Other matters discussed included the operations of the Half Way Tree Transport Centre; an Economic Impact Assessment Study of the Railway (its resuscitation); plans for and the operations of the Downtown Transport Centre as well as expansion of the Caribbean Maritime Institute. The Minister also used the opportunity to highlight his vision for the island’s multi-modal transport system.

Other members of the Belgian delegation included Mr. Philippe Suinen; Mr. Jacques Nyssen, Honorary Consul of Jamaica to Belgium; Mr. Patrick Steyaert, Executive Director of TRANSURB and Mr. Geert Lebbe from VDL-Jonckheere, a transportation company in Belgium.