Senator Ronald Robinson, minister of state in the ministry of foreign affairs and foreign trade has called for the continued engagement of the Jamaican diaspora in matters of national development.

Robinson said Friday it was important to involve the diaspora in the local decision making process as, though they were not physically living in the country, many continued to make signifi-cant contributions to the wider community.

He was speaking during his contribution to the 2008-2009 State of the Nation Debate at Gordon House.

Robinson said there were close to 2.7 million Jamaicans living overseas who are still very committed to the development and success of the country.

"Many Jamaicans in the diaspora continue to give unstintingly of their time, talent, experience and expertise for the betterment of this country," he said.

Bipartisan approach

To this effect, Robinson noted the Government had decided to take a bipartisan approach to working with the diaspora and has since created a joint select committee Parliament on diaspora affairs in May this year. The committee, he said, would maintain dialogue with relevant groups in the diaspora and undertake wide public consul-tations with a view to guiding a national approach, strategy and policies on diaspora matters.

He further said the Jamaican Diaspora Foundation (JADF), which was proposed by delegates to the first Diaspora Conference in 2004, would finally become functional by year-end.

JADF and its operational arm, the Jamaican Diaspora Institute, would be located at the Mona School of Business at the University of the West Indies.

"I am confident that the engage-ment with the diaspora will be strengthened and enhanced significantly, now that the joint select committee and the JADF have been established," said Robinson. "The, fact too, that the joint select committee is bipartisan in member-ship should contribute to ensuring a common approach to the diaspora and its role in bringing about sustainable, national development."

He also said the Third Biennial Jamaican Diaspora Conference, held in June, resulted in the creation of a number of proposals on various topics of national interest, including crime and education.