Caption: The German Embassy in Jamaica on Wednesday celebrated 33 years of German Day of Unity, marking the merger of West and East Germany on 3 October 1990, which followed the fall of the Berlin Wall almost a year later.
Senator Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, who attended last evening’s gathering, spoke on Jamaica’s historical ties with Germany, which dates back to as early as 1834 when the island became home to German settlers. Germany is also one of the first 6 countries to formally recognise independent Jamaica.
While recognising Germany’s longstanding contributions to Jamaica’s economic and social development, Minister Johnson lauded the Country’s support in education, sports and healthcare.
She highlighted Germany’s donation of an automotive school coupled with much needed interventions made by former Ambassador, the late Dr. Stefan Keil, who arranged for the delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines and much needed medical supplies to combat COVID-19 in Jamaica. During the early stages of the pandemic, Germany also assisted with genome-sequencing of positive COVID-19 samples and has upgraded the Above Rocks Health Centre.
