Breakfast with Iona Thomas, British High Commissioner to NZ

Presentation

no longer available

Speaker(s): Iona Thomas
Date: 7:00am — 9:00am, 27 July 2023
Venue: The Northern Club
Location: 19 Princes Street, Auckland
Price members: $75.00 incl GST
Price non-members: $129.00 incl GST

Overview

The UK and NZ trade relationship is riding high; bilateral FTA entry into force, UK accession to CPTPP, and closer cooperation on multilateral trade issues.

In this session, the High Commissioner will highlight the importance of this closer trading relationship to the overall bilateral relationship, the UK as the natural home for NZ business investment, and the challenges of turbulent global geo-political and economic forces.

Iona Thomas OBE

Iona Thomas took up her role as British High Commissioner to New Zealand, and Governor of the Pitcairn Islands in August 2022.

Previously she was Political Counsellor at the British High Commission Islamabad where she was responsible for domestic and regional politics, counter terrorism and Justice and Home Affairs issues. Prior to this she was Additional Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the then Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. She served as Deputy Head of Mission Tripoli from 2015-2017 with responsibility for re-establishing the UK’s permanent presence in Libya for which she was awarded an OBE. From 2012-2015 she was Spokesperson at the UK Mission to the United Nations in New York.

Previous roles in London include Private Secretary to Baroness Warsi and Head of the Afghan Political Team. Before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Iona worked at the Department for Communities and Local Government as Private Secretary to the Secretary of State and on Counter Terrorism.

She received a Masters from the London School of Economics and a Bachelors in Literae Humaniores from Oxford University. Iona is married to Matt Thoume who also works for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and has served in Afghanistan, New York and Pakistan.

Additional information

Covid-19 precautions

By registering for this event you are confirming that you agree to adhere to our Covid-19 health and safety measures. If you are unwell or have any Covid-19 symptoms please do not attend this event.