25th April 2024
Reflect & Remember: Anzac Day 2024
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
23rd April 2024
Good English – A Key to Panama’s Future Success
21st March 2024
Forests in focus on International Day of Forests
11th November 2016 Vienna, Austria
How to ban nuclear tests
Just over 55 years ago, on 30 October 1961, the largest nuclear weapon ever constructed was set off over Novaya Zemlya island in the Arctic Sea. The Soviet Tsar Bomba had a yield of 50 megatons, several thousand times as strong as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The mushroom cloud reached around 60 kilometers into […]
11th November 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia
Finally…
Early October 1918 Corporal George Henry Carter, M2/130656 of the 880th Motor Transport Convoy, Army Service Corps writes to his wife Minnie. His letter, written and indeed read with hope and optimism speaks of change. He confirms an Armistice had been reached with the Bulgarians; ‘…the Germans are about done too, So I am looking […]
10th November 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania
Why I am – commemorating Remembrance Sunday in Vilnius
Every year, the British and Canadian Embassies in Vilnius organise a multi-faith Remembrance Sunday Service in Vilnius. We remember the end of the First World War and the supreme sacrifice of those who gave their lives then, and since, to secure and protect our freedom. The focus of our remembrance is the eleventh hour of […]
Read more on Why I am – commemorating Remembrance Sunday in Vilnius | Reply
8th November 2016 Canberra, Australia
Yes, Canberra
As I approach the end of my four years representing the British Government in Australia, it is time for reflection. With some diplomatic postings you are counting the days for them to end. With others, you hope they never will. This one is in the latter category. I have seen a lot of this extraordinary […]
7th November 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
The New Human Rights Council
So what do the elections to the UN’s Human Rights Council tell us about the state of human rights in the world today? The elections took place ten days ago. There are 47 members of the HRC, and each has a three year term. A third of the membership is elected each year. All the […]
3rd November 2016 London, UK
Digital training and capability at FCO: pilots have landed
The new half-day Agile workshops for leadership at our embassies and high commissions (Posts) bring together the head of mission and deputy head of mission, and the main people from the press and public affairs teams, policy teams and consular communications team. The purpose is to decide how well a Post’s digital channels are supporting […]
Read more on Digital training and capability at FCO: pilots have landed | Reply (4)
3rd November 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia
Why we wear poppies
On 11 November we will mark the ninety-eighth anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War. The guns on the Western Front finally fell silent at eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 after four years of war which left millions of victims and devastated countries. Each year […]
3rd November 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Arctic Convoys: 75th anniversary commemorations in Liverpool
I was in Liverpool on 31 October to attend an event in honour of the 75th anniversary of the Arctic Convoys. It was two months to the day since we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first of the Arctic Convoys in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal […]
Read more on Arctic Convoys: 75th anniversary commemorations in Liverpool | Reply (4)
3rd November 2016 Khartoum
Doing business in Sudan: thoughts from the Sudanese state minister of investment
Last month, we received an invitation at the Sudanese Ministry of Investment from the UK Department for Business Innovation and Skills to attend a business conference at Lancaster House, London, which was commissioned in 1825. The conference was about ‘Shaping Business Environments for Global Growth and Prosperity’. I attended this conference and I am delighted for this […]
Read more on Doing business in Sudan: thoughts from the Sudanese state minister of investment | Reply (11)
31st October 2016 Vientiane, Laos
Laos: Pacifying the “Wild East” for wildlife trafficking
As the Chinese government in recent years clamped down on illicit wildlife trade (IWT), smugglers and buyers have shifted much of their business to China’s small southern neighbour – Lao PDR. The Lao government is struggling to develop effective measures against the growing trade and the involved international syndicates. The United Kingdom together with other […]
Read more on Laos: Pacifying the “Wild East” for wildlife trafficking | Reply (1)