Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller says linkages between sport and the Ccreative/cultural industries must be established as these sectors have the potential to be important drivers of economic development.

“There are some who may not make the connection between the creative and cultural industries and sport, and many still think of those industries merely as the performing and audio-visual arts. However, the creative and cultural industries concept is actually a policy development framework and another element of this Government’s emphasis on planned development,” the prime minister said.

Addressing stakeholders of the national sport associations and federations at a specially convened meeting to discuss strategic priorities for sport in Jamaica for 2013/14 and the Draft White Paper National Sport Policy, Simpson Miller said while the creative and cultural industries are important, they have not been able to bring Jamaica to the heights which sport has achieved.

“I think that we can go further,” she said, emphasising the need to look at the cultural output that assists in the promotion of music, drama, dance, art, special events management

“Our sporting heritage has been phenomenal and our cultural output has arrested the attention of the world independent of each other,” Simpson Miller added.

The prime minister, who is also the minister of Sport, commended Minister with portfolio responsibility, Natalie Neita-Headley for the Draft White Paper National Sport Policy, noting that the National Sport Policy addresses many of the issues which will determine the success of the national initiative.