Kingston, 9 August 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, says that Jamaica and Kenya have agreed to cooperate in the fields of sports, culture and heritage.

Minister Grange says the agreement was finalised during the recent State Visit of the President of Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta.

Minister Grange signed the Memorandum of Understanding formalising the cooperation agreement with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage, Ambassador Amina Mohamed.

Under the MOU, Jamaica and Kenya have agreed to cooperate in the organising of major sporting events in track and field, water sports, football, cycling, cricket, netball, boxing, tennis, golf, martial arts, basketball, rugby and any other discipline that both countries may mutually decide upon.

Minister Grange said:
“Jamaica is the sprint capital of the world and Kenya has a great reputation of producing some of the finest long-distance runners that we have ever known. I believe there is much that we can share not only in track and field, but in other sporting disciplines as well. And so we look forward to exchanges of coaches, administrators and physical education teachers; welcoming Kenyan athletes for training here in Jamaica among other initiatives which will benefit both of our countries.”

Jamaica and Kenya have also agreed to collaborate on sports science, the promotion of sports for people with special needs, and the implementation of anti-doping policies, procedures and practices within the World Anti-Doping Agency system.

Regarding culture and heritage, the areas of cooperation will include collaboration between the National Archives of both countries with a focus on digitisation and modernisation of the entities; cultural exchange in the cultural and creative industries; cooperation between the national museums in the field of heritage research, protection, conservation and management as well as exchange of experts.

Minister Grange said: We would wish to see visits of cultural and creative practitioners including musicians, dancers, actors, theatre groups and visual artists. And so we encourage the participation of our cultural and creative practitioners in festivals in both countries with a view to enhancing the strong cultural links between Jamaica and Kenya.

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