KINGSTON (AP) Jamaica’s prime minister says U.S. President Barack Obama will visit the Caribbean country this month, though there has been no word on whether the president will address the island country’s abysmal LGBT record.
Portia Simpson Miller told lawmakers that Obama will pay a state visit to Jamaica on April 9 before departing for Panama to attend the Summit of the Americas. That regional summit is scheduled for April 10-11.
As for raising the issue of LGBT rights, Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, told The Washington Blade, “We are committed to advancing human rights for all, including LGBT individuals. Indeed, we routinely raise issues of anti-LGBT discrimination and violence with foreign counterparts, including the Jamaican government.”
During his one-day visit to Jamaica, Simpson Miller says the island will host a meeting between Obama and heads of the Caribbean Community political grouping for discussions on security, trade and other topics.
She says her government is “delighted that President Obama will be visiting Jamaica at this time.”
