Next week the British Embassy is moving. We’re off to Eastern Cuba for a full week of activities and meetings, events and project visits. Thirteen of us will travel, including staff from the Embassy’s consular, commercial and political sections and the Director of the British Council, Julian Baker. We’ll be visiting Holguin, Santiago and Guantanamo and we’re really looking forward to an action-packed week.
Why are we going? Well, we’ve got work to do. Britain’s links with Eastern Cuba are strong and we want them to be stronger. For example, many of the 150,000 British tourists who come to Cuba every year head to Holguin and the beaches in Guardalavaca. So our consular staff will be meeting tour operators and the Cuban government authorities to discuss tourism and disaster preparedness (remember hurricane season has just begun). Also, with the new foreign investment law coming into force at the end of this month, more British companies are starting to show an interest in Cuba and one of them has recently started selling delicious Alma de Cuba coffee grown on hillsides in Guantanamo province. So my colleague from UKTI (UK Trade and Investment) will be meeting Cuban government officials and the Chamber of Commerce to see what new opportunities there might be. Meanwhile Julian and his colleagues from the British Council will be looking at how to develop further our cultural relations and talking to universities in the East about enhancing their work in support of English language teaching.
We’ve also got projects to visit. After Hurricane Sandy whipped through Santiago and Holguin in October 2012, the British government provided over $1m to Oxfam and the Red Cross for reconstruction. I look forward to seeing the results of this work in Palma Soriano where roofs have been repaired or replaced by these organisations.
And we’ve got some special events during the week. In the Galería de Arte Universal de Santiago de Cuba we’re putting on a photo exhibition entitled ‘The United Kingdom in Cuba’. The brilliant photos on display have been taken by Cuban photographers and students and show their perspective of the UK in Cuba. Fascinating stuff and some really witty photos with, yes you’ve guessed it, one or two of John Lennon.
Just as exciting is the cricket festival in Guantanamo on Wednesday, 11 June. Many people don’t believe me when I tell them that cricket is played in Cuba but around the country there are small communities, usually descendents of immigrants from cricket-loving West Indian islands like Jamaica and Trinidad, where cricket is played and loved. Two of the strongest clubs are in Guantanamo and Caimanera and I’m looking forward to seeing them match up on 11 June.
There’s much, much more going on which I’ll write about in future blogs or share with you on social media.
Through all this activity and all these events, what do I hope we achieve? By the end of the week I hope the British Embassy – and thus the British government – understands much better the situation in Eastern Cuba and the different perspectives of the people living there. I hope too that Eastern Cuba understands my country better; that we’re innovative, modern and dynamic and that we have a lot to offer. And I hope too, that by Friday I’ll have persuaded one or two more Cubans to support England in the World Cup (see previous blog for why).
I also hope a lot of people get involved. If you’re interested, please post questions on our Embassy Facebook wall, use the #UKenOriente hashtag on Twitter (links on the right-hand side of this page), come and watch the cricket in Guantanamo or come to the photo exhibition in Santiago. See you there!