We are very pleased to invite you to a round-table meeting with the new British Ambassador to Cuba – HE Mr James Hooley OBE. This roundtable will be followed by a second meeeting with Ministry of Tourism (MINTUR), Mr. José Pérez Lazo.

The meeting will take place on the afternoon of Thursday 3rd of July from 2.30pm to 5.30pm in Central London. There will be an opportunity for networking over tea and coffee afterwards and between the two roundtables.

The meeting will offer members an opportunity to hear from the Ambassador after his first few months in post and to have an update from him on the current political economy in Cuba and the business environment.  Members will also have an opportunity to brief him on their business interests in Cuba and to have a discussion on themes of common interest. 

Please confirm if you will be able to attend – the location of the meeting is at our offices at 20 Old Bailey (5th Floor – Orega), London EC4M 7AN.

We will have a limited number of spaces available for people to join remotely – please contact Tracey if you would like to do so. To register check your emails or contact us on team@caribbean-council.org

James Hooley joined HM Diplomatic Service in 2007 and took up his role as British Ambassador to Cuba in March 2025.

In 2009, after two years in London at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, James took up his first overseas posting in Nairobi, Kenya, working on Somalia and spending his final year regularly travelling to Mogadishu as the UK prepared to reopen its embassy there.

In 2012, he returned to London to head the Sanctions Section in the former International Organisations Department, before serving as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary (first William Hague, then Philip Hammond). In 2017, he was posted to Washington DC as Head of the Political Section, a role he held for five years.

On return to London, he became Deputy Director of Protocol, leading on the Royal Family’s international work.  This included leading the FCDO’s work on the State Funeral of Her Late Majesty and the Coronation.

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