MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. The visa waiver agreement between Russia and Jamaica will increase the Caribbean country’s attractiveness for Russian tourists, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Jamaican counterpart Kamina Johnson-Smith on Tuesday.
"An intergovernmental visa waiver agreement that Ms Minister and I had signed in New York in September last year took effect in November," Lavrov noted. "The document… has shown that it can give impetus to tourism ties, as well as to business, educational and humanitarian exchanges. The number of Russian nationals visiting Jamaica has significantly grown since then," he added.
"I am confident that Jamaica will become one of the most popular tourist destinations among Russian tourists as far as Latin American and Caribbean countries are concerned," the Russian top diplomat said.
Lavrov also pointed out that 2020 would mark 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. "We have agreed to celebrate the anniversary properly," he said.
"We are satisfied with the way our relations with Jamaica are progressing. We have confirmed our mutual determination to maintain political dialogue, particularly through regular meetings between the top diplomats," Lavrov went on to say. "We also agreed to step up the use of a mechanism of consultations involving the two countries’ foreign ministries. The last round of consultations took place in Kingston in 2015 so we have asked our colleagues to choose convenient dates for a new round in Russia," he noted.
According to the Russian foreign minister, the parties paid special attention to the situation in the regional organizations of the Latin America and the Caribbean region.