Leigh Turner
Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Part of
UK in Austria
Read biography
21st March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
:For a few days last week the centre of Kyiv turned British. The “British Business Days in Ukraine” running from 17-19 March included: a business-to-business debate chaired by TV presenter Andriy Kulykov with business leaders Petro Poroshenko (businessman, politician and head of National Bank Council) Mohammed Zahoor (Head of Istil Group), Roger Munnings (Catalyst UK) […]
Read more on Brilliant British Business in Ukraine | Reply
15th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
This isn’t really a blog. It’s an unashamed plug for an interview I recently gave to the Ukrainian weekly “Delo” about blogging. I recommend it – apart from anything else it’s a summary of some of my favourite blog entries, and those which other people have most enjoyed. The Foreign Office encourages bloggers to keep reviewing […]
Read more on Tell me: is this blog worth reading? Or writing? | Reply
14th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I hold many events at the residence to promote educational providers or organisations, such as the Business Link Education Agency, which help to match up education providers in the UK with customers in Ukraine. We have also been able to host some valuable charity events. But it’s unusual to have an event which combines the […]
Read more on How education can drive charity – and vice-versa | Reply
12th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Guest blog by Svita Yavorska, EU Co-ordinator, British Embassy Kyiv It’s great to find the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources full of people who care passionately about climate change. The occasion is a round table organised by the British Embassy in partnership with the State Environmental Investment Agency of Ukraine to highlight the […]
Read more on How might climate change affect Ukraine? | Reply
11th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Anyone visiting Independence Square in the heart of Kyiv in the past few weeks will have seen the massive “British Business Days in Ukraine” banner stretched across the face of the Globus Shopping Centre. The British Business Days in Ukraine (BBDU) are nearly here – they run from 17-19 March. Some great British and Ukrainian […]
Read more on British business days in Ukraine | Reply
10th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was set up in the United Kingdom in 2006 as a national law enforcement agency. It has a terrific logo and website and acts as a repository for expertise on combating serious crime in the UK. So it’s a privilege to have two top counter-corruption experts from SOCA in […]
Read more on Using Experts to Fight Corruption | Reply
7th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
1 March is St David’s Day, named after the patron saint of Wales who died in 589. I’m part-Welsh: my great-grandfather John Derfel (photo below) came from the the town of Llanderfel in north Wales and was the son of the Welsh poet and political writer Robert Jones Derfel (for the Welsh-language Wikipedia entry, click here). […]
Read more on My Welsh Great-Grandfather | Reply
7th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“Transparency” is a big buzzword whenever people talk about improving the business climate in Ukraine. Everyone agrees that if we can increase transparency in the way economy is run, with a level playing field for all and transparent arrangements for eg tax payments, the business climate will improve. That in turn will boost Foreign Direct […]
Read more on How to make energy more transparent | Reply
7th March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I’m giving a press conference at a seminar for young eastern European mayors at the Ukrainian provincial town of Vinnitsa when a journalist leans forward. Why, he asks, are there are so few women amongst the mayors invited to the event? After the organisers have explained that they had to invite young mayors from those […]
Read more on Ambassadors in high heels | Reply
3rd March 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What single thing could the Ukrainian authorities do to show foreign and domestic businesses that they are serious about improving the business climate? Ukraine faces a daunting list of reforms needed to create a business environment to stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI). The authorities have announced welcome steps to tackle corruption, remove over-regulation and reform […]
Read more on One giant leap for business: VAT refunds | Reply