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FOREIGN Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith yesterday expressed shock and regret at the sudden passing, Thursday, of Stefan Keil, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Jamaica. Keil, who fell ill at the embassy on Waterloo Road in St Andrew, was pronounced dead when taken to hospital.The ambassador, who presented credentials to the governor general in August, was keen on working to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Jamaica and Germany, Johnson Smith said in a release."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 cognisant of the special challenges faced by small island developing states like Jamaica," the minister said.Ambassador Keil was also accredited as permanent representative of Germany to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and actively participated in the meetings of the 26th Session of the ISA Council and Assembly which ended on December 14."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 condolence to the ambassador's family, the staff at the German Embassy in Kingston, and to his colleague members of the diplomatic corps," said Johnson Smith.At the same time, Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and foreign trade, Lisa Hanna, said, "It is with shock that I learned of the death of our German Ambassador to Jamaica Dr Stefan Keil."She said that while Dr Keil has only been in Jamaica for close to four months, his reputation for sterling work in other jurisdictions preceded him. Jamaica has had a long and cordial relationship with Germany and Europe in general, and Dr Keil had signalled his high regard for cooperation already established in areas like sports, education, the environment, and trade."I express sincere condolence on behalf of the People's National Party and the people of Jamaica to Ambassador Keil's family, friends, and the German diplomatic corps," said Hanna.