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The Embassy of Costa Rica in London |
Contact
Address: 23 Woodstock Street, Mayfair, London, W1C 2AS, United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 020 7629 3111
E-Mail: info@costaricanembassy.co.uk
The Ambassador
Amb. Mr. Rafael Ortiz Fábrega
His Excellency Mr. Rafael Ortiz Fábrega is a distinguished Costa Rican diplomat and lawyer, currently serving as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Costa Rica to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, based in London.
Ambassador Ortiz Fábrega has a long and varied career spanning both public service and the private sector. He holds a law degree from the University of Costa Rica, and has completed postgraduate studies including a negotiation program at Harvard University and an executive business legal program at INCAE and Georgetown University.
Before his diplomatic appointment, he worked as an attorney at Pacheco Coto law firm, and later served in the corporate legal sector for Coca‑Cola Latin America. He also has a strong profile in sports administration, having served as President of the Board of Directors of the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense soccer club.
In public life, he was elected Deputy in Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly (2014–2018), and held the position of President of the Legislative Assembly (2015–2016).
Since his appointment as Ambassador to the UK in 2018, he has focused on strengthening the bilateral relationship between Costa Rica and the United Kingdom — promoting trade, investment, cultural exchange, and sustainable development.
History
Costa Rican-German bilateral relations are untroubled. They are focused primarily on trade and economic exchange, long-standing development collaboration, and cooperation on environmental issues and climate protection. Germany enjoys a positive image in Costa Rica, thanks in part to the country’s well-assimilated German community.
Germany is one of Costa Rica’s principal trading partners in the European Union, and Costa Rica is a popular holiday destination for Germans (around 70,000 German tourists visited the country in 2015).
On an education level the Costa Rican-German bilateral relations are also good. The German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) has a regional office in San José, which runs an Information Centre that conducts bilateral and regional programmes to promote the exchange of lecturers and students. There are special bilateral agreements on academic and student exchanges with Costa Rican institutions. There are also two Goethe Centers in San José.
