By Celestine Avi and Seth Eyiah
President John Dramani Mahama’s State Visit to Jamaica has featured a series of high-level engagements underscoring the deep historical, cultural and Pan-African bonds between Ghana and Jamaica.
As part of the visit, President Mahama paid tribute to Jamaica’s National Hero, the Right Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey, at the National Heroes Park in Kingston.
In recognition of the shared Pan-African heritage and Garvey’s enduring legacy of Black pride, self-determination and African unity, the President laid a wreath at the shrine, honouring one of the most influential figures in the global Pan-African movement.
President Mahama also addressed a Joint Meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives at Gordon House, where he reaffirmed the longstanding historical ties between Ghana and Jamaica and reiterated Ghana’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Jamaica and the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
He called for deeper collaboration in trade, investment, education, culture and tourism, while advocating stronger African-Caribbean integration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The President also reaffirmed Ghana’s support for the global reparations agenda, expressed solidarity with Jamaica’s pursuit of reparatory justice, and announced plans to champion a continent-wide framework to guarantee people of African descent the right to return and reconnect with Africa.
At the conclusion of the parliamentary sitting, President Mahama signed the official Visitors’ Book in the presence of the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Clerk of Parliament, marking another milestone in the longstanding diplomatic relations between Ghana and Jamaica.
The President has also visited Seville Heritage Park in St. Ann, where he toured the preserved Ghanaian Village.
The heritage site stands as a powerful reminder of the shared ancestry between the people of Ghana and Jamaica, preserving the history and legacy of enslaved Africans taken from the Gold Coast and other parts of West Africa to the Caribbean during the transatlantic slave trade.
The engagements have reinforced the enduring friendship between Ghana and Jamaica while advancing a shared commitment to Pan-Africanism, cultural reconnection and closer cooperation across the African Diaspora.
