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Edward Ferguson

British Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia

Part of UK in Serbia

11th October 2024 Belgrade, Serbia

One Year In

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My family and I arrived in Serbia a year ago, and we feel so lucky to be able to call this beautiful country home.

We have travelled a lot.  We have learned a lot.  And everywhere we have gone, we have met amazing people doing amazing things.

I see so much potential in this country.  And I am proud of the progress we have already made in building a more modern, dynamic and forward-looking partnership.

Our annual trade is now worth over a billion pounds.  And it is growing fast, especially in cutting-edge sectors like digital, AI and biotech.  

We have financed the Morava corridor motorway, and we are planning many more exciting projects that will transform Serbia’s transport and energy infrastructure.

Our defence partnership dates back nearly 200 years, including our alliance in two World Wars.  Today, our soldiers serve together on UN operations in Cyprus, while our prosecutors and police carry out successful joint operations against organised criminals.

Above all, this year has shown me how much Serbs and Brits have in common.  We enjoy so many of the same things, from the Premier League to beer (piva – alliteration!).  Highlights for me this year have included concerts here in Belgrade by Ed Sheeran and Rod Stewart, our British-Serbian fashion show, Red Star playing Manchester City, and our Wimbledon-themed King’s Birthday Party.

Of course, there is much more to do.  

We will continue to work closely with the government, and with brave and capable experts from civil society, to strengthen Serbia’s democratic and judicial institutions, to improve the independence and quality of your media, and to empower women and girls around the country.

And we will remain resolute in upholding regional stability, so that people in Serbia, and across the Western Balkans, can live their lives in peace and prosperity.

So thank you for your warm welcome, to me and my family.  I see a bright future for our two countries.

Onwards and upwards!

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About Edward Ferguson

Edward Ferguson took over as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Serbia in July 2023. Before coming to Belgrade, Edward served as the Minister Counsellor Defence at the British Embassy in Washington…

Edward Ferguson took over as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Serbia in July 2023. Before coming to Belgrade, Edward served as the Minister Counsellor Defence at the British Embassy in Washington DC in September 2018. Together with the Defence Attaché, he led the British Defence Staff (United States), a network of 1,000 people spread across 28 States. As the UK’s senior policy adviser on defence relations with the United States, he was responsible for UK-US collaboration on strategic planning, nuclear policy and programmes, trade and acquisition, and science and technology. He was the US Network’s lead on HMG’s Integrated Review and AUKUS, and the senior champion for the Race, Ethnic and Cultural Heritage Group.

Previously, he served as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2014 to 2018, where he created and led a new international strategy, co-launched by the British and German Foreign Ministers, that re-energised Euro-Atlantic integration after years of stagnation while stimulating economic growth and reducing high levels of youth unemployment.

A former Exhibitioner and Choral Scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, where he was also Treasurer of the Oxford Union, Edward graduated with First Class Honours in Classics in 2001. Joining the Graduate Fast Stream of the Ministry of Defence, he started out in the Naval Staff before joining the Iraq Secretariat during the build-up to and subsequent execution of Operation TELIC. In 2003, he was involved in financial and requirement scrutiny of the Department’s future helicopter procurement programme.

From 2004 to 2006, he managed a national award-winning £300-million programme to consolidate the MOD estate in Greater London and to redevelop RAF Northolt. In 2006, he volunteered for an operational tour, serving as Political Advisor to a British Battlegroup in Maysaan Province, Iraq (while his brother was a troop leader with the British Army in Basra). On his return, he took on responsibility for the strategic management of the UK’s bilateral defence relations with the United States, Canada and Western Europe.

From 2007 to 2009, he worked as Private Secretary to three Defence Secretaries, acting as their closest adviser on issues relating to operations in Iraq, the £6-billion defence equipment programme, science & technology, counter-terrorism and counter-piracy.

In 2009, he was appointed the Head of Afghanistan and Pakistan Policy, responsible for advice to the National Security Council on the policy, financial, legal, parliamentary and presentational aspects of the UK military contribution to operations in Afghanistan, and on the long-term defence role and interests in Pakistan.

From 2011 to 2014, he was Head of Defence Strategy and Priorities, leading two teams, one responsible for leading the MOD’s contribution to developing the 2015 National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review, and the other for prioritising the MOD’s international defence engagement activities. In 2013, he graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science with an MSc with Distinction in Strategy and Diplomacy. He has been a member of the RCDS Strategic Advisory Panel, a member of the US Air Force Grand Strategy Advisory Board, and is a graduate of the PINNACLE Command and Staff course.