Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

26th July 2016 Geneva, Switzerland

by Julian Braithwaite

Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva

The UK has always supported the WTO and that won’t change

Some have asked whether Britain’s decision to leave the EU will affect the World Trade Organisation. And the answer is that, in perhaps the most important respect, nothing will change. Britain helped found the WTO, has been a leading supporter while in the EU, and is set to remain one of its leading supporters when […]

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26th July 2016 Bangalore, India

Manjari Chakravorty

Knowledge Economy Adviser

Interview with Prof Simon Croft

Manjari Chakravorty, Knowledge Economy Adviser in Kolkata had the opportunity to interview Prof Simon Croft, Professor of Parasitology in the Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and the first and former R&D Director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), Geneva. Prof Simon was […]

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26th July 2016 New Delhi, India

Rita Sharma

by Rita Sharma

Head of Newton Fund in India

Newton Fund spearheading UK’s science and innovation partnership with India

Last month I was at the 5th UK-India Science and Innovation Council meeting in London where the UK’s Minister for Science and Universities Jo Johnson welcomed his counterpart from India Dr Harsh Vardhan to jointly assess the collaborations between the two countries in the areas of science and innovation. Both the ministers met at the […]

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25th July 2016 London, UK

My first month at the DTU – Digital Transformation in a historic setting

DTU one month in. On my first day as Product Manager in the Digital Transformation Unit (DTU) at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) it rained, hard.   Having carefully selected a suit to wear, eager to give a good, professional first impression, I arrived looking like the proverbial drowned rat.  Soaked through, I may have […]

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25th July 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania

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by Claire Lawrence

Former British Ambassador to Lithuania

Why I am – talking to young leaders at their international summer school

On 25 July I’m very excited to be talking to 120 young leaders from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and the UK at an International Future Leaders School in Trakai. Meeting teenagers and university students in Lithuania is one of my favourite things to do. I enjoy hearing their perspective on life, and find they ask […]

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25th July 2016 Canberra, Australia

Menna Rawlings CMG

by Menna Rawlings

British High Commissioner to Australia

One month later

If a week is a long time in politics, the last four weeks in the UK have felt like decades. In Australia, you’ve had your election and there is (finally) a winner: congratulations to Malcolm Turnbull. In the UK, our political system has convulsed on the back of the decision by the British people to […]

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22nd July 2016

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

24 hours of democracy in action and its impact on Turks and Caicos Islands and other Overseas Territories

I was delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to welcome to the Turks and  Caicos Islands on 20 and 21 July the Premiers, Chief Ministers and Ministers from no less than seven Overseas Territories: Anguilla,  Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat.  This is also a big honour for TCI, and a […]

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22nd July 2016 London, UK

Alex Beatty & Tara Finn

First World War Centenary Commemorations Team

Australians on the Western Front

Mention Australia or New Zealand and the First World War together and the first association is Gallipoli. It is right that we remember the sacrifices made at Gallipoli, but the story of both forces in the First World War did not end there. The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) actually did the majority of its fighting […]

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22nd July 2016 London, UK

Tristan Gilchrist

Tristan Gilchrist

Consular Team, Rio De Janerio

Gearing up for the Games

It’s beginning to feel very real. There are only two weeks to go until the start of Rio 2016. Brazil has been in the unusual (unprecedented?) position of hosting the top three sporting events in the world in the space of just two years. That also meant that just as the lights were going out in the […]

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22nd July 2016 London, UK

Joanna Roper

Joanna Roper

Director Foreign Office Consular Services

Forced Marriage Summer Campaign – #RightToChoose

Last week saw the launch of the Forced Marriage Unit’s annual summer campaign. The long summer holiday is a high risk time when families may use the opportunity to take young women and men abroad for a forced marriage. This year the Forced Marriage Unit has produced short audio pieces based on the film launched […]

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