Ambassador Marian Schuegraf, Political Director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held talks in Kingston on January 28 and 29 with Kamina Johnson Smith,  Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as well as with her cabinet colleagues Fayval Williams, Minister of  Science, Energy and Technology, Daryl Vaz, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Climate Change and the Environment, as well as Karl Samuda, Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister responsible for Education. Mrs. Schuegraf also met with representatives of civil society, academia, the political opposition and of the diplomatic corps, and visited the International Seabed Authority for talks with Secretary General Michael Lodge.

The meeting with Minister Johnson Smith focused in particular on the follow-up of Germany’s Latin America/Caribbean Initiative launched by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in May of 2019 with a ministerial conference in Berlin, which Minister Johnson Smith attended together with other Foreign Ministers from the region. Aiming  to  re-invigorate  the cooperation between Germany and the region in the multilateral political fora as well as regards climate change, economic linkages, science, education and other priority areas, the next ministerial meeting is scheduled to take place in Santiago de Chile in May 2020. It will put a particular emphasis on establishing a formal network for scientific cooperation. Another important topic discussed in the meeting was Germany’s recently launched  initiative to help stem the flow of illegal small arms in the region.

To get a better understanding of some of the current issues in Jamaica mobilizing public opinion, Ambassador Schuegraf also visited the Noranda Jamaica Partners Bauxite facility in Discovery Bay and the Cockpit country.