Craig Douglas

Foreign Service Officer @ministry of foreign affairs and foreign trade

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I was awarded a bachelor's degree in international relations and public administration (double major) by the University of the West Indies in 2007 and a bachelor's degree in law (LLB) (100% self taught) by the University of London in 2024. I also abtained a master's degree in international trade policy from the University of the West Indies in 2008. I joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica in 2009 as a Foreign Service Officer. My area of focus was on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) matters, specialising in international trade. I was later assigned to the unit in the Ministry that coordinated activities related to intra-CARICOM trade and CARICOM's trade with the EU. Thereafter, I was assigned to do a study of Jamaica's trade with CARICOM in respect of which I produced a cost-benefit analysis to guide the Cabinet of Jamaica on strategies to improve trade relations with the region. In 2010, I was assigned to Kuwait as First Secretary at the Embassy of Jamaica for 4 years. During that time, my area of responsibility was on research and reporting to develop trade and investment relationship between Jamaica and countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council. I was also directed to focus on building bilateral relationships between Jamaica and the Gulf countries. Additionally, my assignment spanned consular and diaspora policies. During my tenure in Kuwait, I developed a fair depth of knowledge on middle eastern politics which was consistently enhanced through my daily reporting and analysis. I was reassigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Jamaica in 2014 and placed within the Unit of the Ministry that dealt with all WTO matters. During that time, I coordinated Jamaica's 4th Trade Policy Review at the WTO and produced the Government's report. Three years later I was deployed to Geneva, Switzerland, where I spent 6 years focusing on WTO operations and leading negotiations at the WTO, both for Jamaica and on behalf of many other countries, in several areas, such as, agri