The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Hon. Darren A. Henfield, MP, in a virtual farewell call on 23rd June, 2021, received His Excellency Dr Bernd von Münchow-Pohl, whose tour of duty as Ambassador of Germany to The Bahamas is coming to an end.  His appointment began 21st January, 2019, when he presented his Letters of Credence to the Governor-General.

Minister Henfield commended Ambassador von Münchow-Pohl on his efforts during the two and one-half years of his tenure to enhance the already strong friendship between The Bahamas and Germany.

The Ambassador and the Minister noted the many activities that had enriched the efforts to deepen the relationship between the two countries, such as the bilateral support mechanism in areas of candidacies on international bodies, the significant assistance from the German Government in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian and Germany’s advocacy on climate change issues as a member of the United Nations Security Council.  They also discussed issues related to an Air Services Agreement to be finalised between Germany and The Bahamas, small arms, and the vulnerability of small-island developing states.  While speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister commended the countries of the G7 for their commitment to gift vaccines to developing countries.  However, he also expressed his grave concern over the process by which vaccines are made available and urged G7 countries like Germany to play a greater role in expediting the distribution of sufficient supplies of the vaccine to small countries like The Bahamas.

The Minister, on behalf of the Government and people of The Bahamas, as well as the Ministry, expressed thanks to Ambassador von Münchow-Pohl for his friendship and wished him well in his future endeavours.