Foreign Affairs Minister Expresses Shock At The Sudden Passing Of German Ambassador

Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade has expressed shock and regret at the sudden passing of His Excellency Stefan Keil, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Jamaica.

The Ambassador, who presented Credentials to the Governor-General of Jamaica in August, 2021, was keen on working to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Jamaica and Germany.  Minister Johnson Smith noted that “during my meeting with Ambassador Keil in August, we spoke of working together on areas of mutual interest at the bilateral and multilateral levels.  It was heartening that he was cognizant of the special challenges faced by Small Island Developing States like Jamaica.”

Ambassador Keil was also accredited as Permanent Representative of Germany to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and actively participated in the meetings of the 26^th Session of the ISA Council and Assembly which ended earlier this week on 14^th December, 2021.

The Foreign Minister noted that “Germany has lost an experienced diplomat, who had only just begun his tenure in Jamaica.  On behalf of the Government of Jamaica and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, I extend sincere condolences to the Ambassador’s family, the staff at the German Embassy in Kingston and to his colleague members of the diplomatic corps”.