Montego Bay hosts 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference

The 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference opened at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on June 17, drawing returning Jamaicans, government officials, and AI Task Force members for plenary sessions on technology, public-sector modernisation, and post-Hurricane Melissa reconstruction. Trevor Forrest, Senior Advisor to the Minister with responsibility for Science, Technology and Special Projects, and Chris Reckord, Chair of the National AI Task Force, anchored discussions on the new mandatory AI training requirement for government workers.

The conference arrives against a backdrop of compressed economic conditions. The Bank of Jamaica’s Monetary Policy Committee held its policy rate at 5.50 percent in late May and projected that headline inflation will breach the 4–6 percent target range during the June and September quarters, driven by Middle East-linked fuel cost pressures. The World Bank now forecasts Jamaica’s economy to contract 1 percent in 2026 as Hurricane Melissa effects continue, with a rebound expected from 2027.

For diaspora households weighing remittances, return-migration timing, and property decisions, the operative signal is that Jamaica’s macro recovery is on a one-to-two-year horizon, and the diaspora conference has been positioned by the government as a structured channel into reconstruction-phase investment.

Source: Jamaica Information Service; Bank of Jamaica May 2026 Policy Press Release; World Bank Jamaica country brief.