After a 5-year posting in the country, British High Commissioner to Belize, H.E. Pat Ashworth will be leaving the country on August 2nd. The Guardian caught up with the outgoing diplomat who shared his impressions of Belize.
Ashworth told us that his stint in Belize has been probably the longest any High Commissioner has done here and explained that it has been a lot of work. He added that he is glad to have been here when Belize has been rising up in the agenda in the U.K. and is satisfied that Belize is on the minds of ministers in the U.K., “not least because they support the principle of self determination in the Falklands and being the only country in the region to say so.” This, he said, means a lot to the British Government and people of the Falklands. H.E. Ashworth stated that he has been in Belize at bad times when BATSUB downsized its numbers from 60 to 6 but is glad to be leaving at a time when the numbers are expected to be ramped up. “I think the relations between the U.K. and Belize are on the up and up,” he stated.
Asked what the highlights of his tenure were, he pointed out that being able to contribute to the Belize Defence Force equipment like the most recent one where 17 4-ton trucks were handed over as well as going on training exercises with the BDF and BATSUB which at times ended with him being covered with fleas and ticks. All in all he stated that he enjoyed his tour in Belize.
H.E. Ashworth will be replaced by Peter Hughes, who has last been posted in North Korea and who Ashworth says could not have been a better choice.
