Robert Scott, Honorary Consul to the Republic of Latvia, has been re-elected Dean of the Consular Corps of Jamaica at their annual general meeting (AGM) which took place last Wednesday (June 7) at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

Scott, who also doubles as general manager of Lifespan Company Limited, shared activities in his outgoing dean’s report that spoke to trade and youth development activities, among others.

He congratulated the consuls who had done yeoman service in attending to their citizens during the first wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “Your respective countries owe you a debt of gratitude” he said.

Alluding to “big things to come” in his second term, Scott indicated that corps’ efforts to mitigate human trafficking will be enhanced through technology and a leading information technology firm has started the development work to provide this solution.

Additionally, a committee is being formed with key medical, legal and other professionals to have an organ donor registry established in Jamaica.

“This will be a long term project but happily there are several professionals in the know who can make this a reality. What is needed is a catalyst to bring this all together. We will be that catalyst. We are in the process of creating a committee and I have appointed a well known medical professional as co-chair,” said Scott, adding that, “despite the complexity, there is a low hanging fruit that can be explored soonest.”

Scott showed appreciation to members of his executive and two special awards were presented. A dean’s award was presented to Christopher Issa, Honorary Consul for Slovakia, for his tremendous support to the administration. Yodit Hylton, Honorary Consul for Ethiopia, also received a humanitarian award for her role in organising a donation and shipment of a 40-foot container of food, clothing and household items to Haiti shortly after the 2021 earthquake.

At the annual general meeting, the following members were elected to serve as follows:

• Vice dean: Yodit Hylton, Honorary Consul for Ethiopia
• Secretary: Alveta Knight, Honorary Consul for Bahamas
• Treasurer: Indera Persaud, Honorary Consul for Guyana

The directors are Winston Bayley, Honorary Consul for Barbados; Irena Cousins, Honorary Consul General for Poland; Andrew Issa, Honorary Consul for Finland and Norway; Nicole Foga, Honorary Consul for Romania; Peter Goldson, Honorary Consul General for Sweden; Lisa Johnston, Honorary Consul for Costa Rica; Josef Forstmyr, Honorary Consul for Austria.

The Consular Corps of Jamaica is the umbrella organisation of the Honorary Consuls in Jamaica representing 50 nations. An honorary consul represents a nation where there are no embassies or high commissions to attend to visiting or resident citizens of the “sending country”.