“Business Is Great”—Dr Antony Stokes, LVO OBE, Ambassador to Cuba of the United Kingdom

The interview with Dr. Antony Stokes LVO OBE, took place while he was the UK ambassador to Cuba from October 2016 to January 2022. I met with Dr. Stokes at the CUPET Energy Oil and Gas Conference in Havana in October 2017. We held an “on-the-spot” interview at an event given by the Ambassador at the official residence in Vedado on the final day of the conference, an event at which Ambassador Stokes had spoken on opening day. This chapter addresses the UK–Cuba relationship, one which has always asserted to be independent of the U.S. position although the United Kingdom is an ally of that country. The interview occurred at the time when Trump began pursuing his aggressive sanctions policy to roll back the advances made during the Obama administration. Relations between the United Kingdom and Cuba had been improving and were confirmed in May 2016 by the visit to Havana of the former Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to sign agreements covering debt repayment, education, financial services, energy, and culture. The UK–Cuba relationship was later affirmed by the historic first official visit of British royals to Cuba, that of Prince Charles and Camilla the following year. In this interview we focused on the UK’s vision of its bilateral relationship with Cuba, the potential for British investment, the CUPET oil conference’s success, first steps for investors entering the Cuban market, and what the Ambassador viewed as advantages to Cuba and the United Kingdom working together. In fact, there was an increase in inquiries from British investors causing the hiring of more staff at the embassy’s trade office in Havana.