Kingston, Jamaica -- May 6, 2008 -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the government wants to strengthen the bond of friendship between Jamaica and Cuba.

Mr Golding said that the government is determined to strengthen and expand the relationship between Cuba and Jamaica and that he's looking forward to the discussions which begin tomorrow with Cuba's President Raul Castro.

Mr Golding was speaking May 4 when he addressed hundreds of Jamaican descendants in Havana, Cuba at the Asociacion Caribena de Cuba. Mr Golding, accompanied by the Ministers of Health and Environment, Tourism, Water and Housing, Agriculture and Foreign Affairs, is in Havana on a three day official visit. He said over the years Cuba has provided Jamaica with assistance in many areas and that the Jamaican government would like to reciprocate.

Addressing the concerns of the Jamaican decendants, Mr Golding noted that the Jamaican embassy in Cuba had reported a high level of interest in re-establishing their Jamaican roots and to secure the necessary documentation and he has promised further assistance from the government.

Mr Golding said he held discussions this afternoon with the Minister of Health to assist those Cubans through collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help identify the registration documents of their parents, grand-parents and other relatives. He said the Jamaican embassy in Cuba had reported some amount of success but efforts would be made to help speed up the process.

'We want to do more', he said. ' We want to develop a programme that will enable you to connect back to your roots and to come back to Jamaica to see all your people. We would be happy to receive you as members of the family we have not seen for a long time', Mr Golding told the descendants. The Prime Minister said he was also assigning the Minister of Tourism to help work on the programme to bring back the Cubans to Jamaica as tourists.

He told them that the government had established the Diaspora foundation which is a network of Jamaicans living across the globe and that the group will be having its bi-annual conference in Jamaica in June. "It would be wonderful if at that conference we were able to have a delegation from the Asociacion Caribena de Cuba".

Mr Golding said he would be making representation to the government of Cuba on the matter and that the Jamaican embassy in Cuba would be following up on the proposal so that when the conference convenes in June, he will be able to extend a special welcome to the Cuban delegation.

Mr Golding expressed his sincere appreciation to the Jamaican descendants who entertained the Jamaican delegation with songs and dance of Cuba and the memories of Jamaican folk songs and tales told to them by their parents and grand-parents.