New EU Ambassador Dr. Erja Askola Pledges Stronger Partnerships with Belize

Dr. Erja Askola, the newly appointed Ambassador of the European Union to Belize, hails from Finland in northern Europe. She currently serves as the EU Ambassador to Jamaica, Belize, and The Bahamas, and she expressed her delight at being in this vibrant region, describing Belize as a unique bridge between the Caribbean and Central America.

Dr. Askola brings a wealth of experience to her role, having worked as an international business lawyer, competition and antitrust lawyer, and in the fields of international relations, development cooperation, and trade negotiations. Her previous posting in Fiji involved engagement with 13 Pacific Island countries, making her new role a seamless continuation of her work with small island states and ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) nations.

She is particularly excited about contributing to meaningful and impactful initiatives.

Dr. Askola aims to deepen political collaboration, advance shared priorities in global issues, development cooperation, trade, and investments, and enhance ties with the government and other key stakeholders.

One of her priorities is fostering closer people-to-people connections. She highlighted initiatives such as student exchanges through Erasmus and EU visitors programs, underscoring her belief that partnerships are fundamentally about people. Reflecting on the strong bond between Belize and the EU, she noted, “It is the EU and you.”