United States Ambassador His Excellency Mr Donald Tapia presented his Letters of Credence to Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen in a brief ceremony at King’s House yesterday morning, September 11, 2019.
In welcoming the Ambassador, Sir Patrick said he looked forward to continued good relations between Jamaica and the United States. He observed that over the past 57 years, Jamaica had “an illustrious group” of Ambassadors, several of whom had returned for unofficial visits after their tours of duty were completed.
The Ambassador said during his tenure, he planned to focus on education and youth, visit high schools and give motivational talks to students to give them hope, encourage them to focus, and to make the right decisions.
The Governor-General took the opportunity to share information about the I Believe Initiative which focussed on Youth, Family and Education. The Summer of Service Programme, which was an arm of the IBI, was conducted in collaboration with sponsors who provided scholarships and financial assistance to tertiary level students.
Sir Patrick told the Ambassador that whenever he wished to visit the Parishes, the Custodes would be willing to assist and make his visit informative and enjoyable.
Ambassador Tapia, who is a Businessman from Arizona, has served as Chairman and CEO of Essco Group Management, the largest Hispanic-owned business in Arizona. He has also served on the Boards of several philanthropic and education-related organizations. He succeeds Ambassador Luis G Moreno who demitted office in June 2017.