Ambassador's speech on occasion of the Queen's Birthday Party 2017
British Ambassador to Bolivia, James Thornton, hosted a reception on 1 June to celebrate Her Majesty's official birthday.
“I had the privilege of having an audience with Her Majesty The Queen last month. She is a lady of enormous dignity. Despite her age – ninety-one years – she still carries out a busy programme of public engagements. And, though she meets large numbers of people, she has the gift of making each one of them feel special.
So, Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!
It was a pleasure for me to talk to her about Bolivia and the work of the Embassy here. It has been a busy year for us.
The Embassy is now devoting much more effort to helping British companies to do business here in Bolivia. As a result more UK companies are showing interest in the many opportunities available here.
The UK believes strongly in the economic benefits that arise from increased trade and investment between nations. This Embassy seeks ways to support the Bolivian Government’s drive to increase business exchanges with other countries.
This year Bolivia started its term on the UN Security Council, and today the country takes over the rotating Presidency of the Council. As one of the fifteen members of the Security Council, Bolivia can play a real role in saving lives in the various conflict zones around the world. This Embassy is pursuing a dialogue with the government about what this means in practice, as well as seeking to raise interest in the work of the Council more widely in Bolivia.
I love Bolivia and am delighted to have had the opportunity to travel widely in the country in the last year.
Last June the people of the UK voted for Brexit. Our government was determined to implement this expression of the will of the people, and therefore, in March, formally started the process of leaving the European Union. Nevertheless, the UK will remain fully engaged in the world and it will continue to be my task to build the strongest possible relationship with Bolivia.”