3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
23rd February 2016 Mumbai, India
Discussion on innovation and intellectual property rights
Earlier this week, I was one of the panelists in a multi-stakeholder discussion on the role of a robust intellectual property (IP) regime in boosting confidence of foreign investors in India. This event was held in New Delhi by the Global Intellectual Property Center. The discussion was timely! – with all the energy and enthusiasm […]
Read more on Discussion on innovation and intellectual property rights | Reply
23rd February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
#AdiosIstanbul 2: my favourite walk (and pictures)
I wrote recently that as my departure from the fabulous city of Istanbul loomed, I would be writing blogs about my favourite places and activities under the heading #AdiosIstanbul. One of my favourite activities in Istanbul is walking. I have wandered all over the European side, taking in places from Zeytinburnu and Kumkapı to Okmeydanı […]
Read more on #AdiosIstanbul 2: my favourite walk (and pictures) | Reply
23rd February 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
The UN’s Role On Human Rights Is About More Than Julian Assange
Like all governments and international organisations, the UN sometimes gets a bad press. Recently the UN faced critical headlines following the release of an opinion by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Julian Assange was being arbitrarily detained in the UK. Now, the decision to conclude that someone who is evading Swedish justice by […]
Read more on The UN’s Role On Human Rights Is About More Than Julian Assange | Reply
19th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
BOOSTING THE TIES WITH CANADA AND THE DR
Building closer and more productive relations with other countries is the key part of many diplomats’ work, and it is also vital for many Overseas Territories. Turks and Caicos Islands is no exception, and there have been two examples recently of how our Territory can benefit from working to enhance our relationship with neighbours. In […]
Read more on BOOSTING THE TIES WITH CANADA AND THE DR | Reply
19th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Papal globetrotting
The Pope’s latest trip, to Mexico, and comment to journalists on his return that he’d like to go to China, has set me thinking about the way travel has changed Papal interaction with the world over the last fifty years. It is difficult to believe that before Pope Paul VI, Papal travel outside Italy was […]
19th February 2016 Gaborone, Botswana
Salang Sentle Bagaetsho
My assignment has ended and I have now left Botswana after three years that have flown by which is always the sign of an enjoyable posting. So this is my final and reflective blog, written from a freezing London. Never again will I complain about the heat. For my over-arching impression, I will stick with […]
18th February 2016 Dublin, Ireland
The GREAT Energy Summit showed Britain at its innovative best
The curtain has just fallen on the GREAT Energy Summit, one of our major events of the year in Central & Eastern Europe (CEE). This year, as I wrote earlier in the week, the Summit was in Warsaw, so I saw at first hand the amount of work that went into making it such a […]
Read more on The GREAT Energy Summit showed Britain at its innovative best | Reply
17th February 2016 Dublin, Ireland
Central & Eastern Europe offers a pipeline of opportunities for British energy companies
The GREAT Energy Summit kicks off this morning, with more than 200 energy sector specialists from the UK and from across Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) coming together in Warsaw. Although the event is in Poland, it will present the opportunities that exist for UK companies across the whole of CEE – and, in turn, […]
Read more on Central & Eastern Europe offers a pipeline of opportunities for British energy companies | Reply
17th February 2016 London, UK
The GREAT campaign: from theory to digital reality
What’s so great about GREAT? The GREAT campaign was launched in 2012 to make the most of the global interest in the UK as a result of the London Olympic Games. It was designed to showcase the very best of what Britain has to offer, welcoming the world to visit us, study with us, and […]
Read more on The GREAT campaign: from theory to digital reality | Reply
16th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit: freedom of expression matters
I was pleased on 16 February to visit the editorial offices of Yeni Şafak with a number of EU Consuls-General. We went to Yeni Şafak on a “geçmiş olsun” visit after last week’s attacks on Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit. This followed similar visits to Hurriyet and Sabah after attacks in 2015. The UK […]
Read more on Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit: freedom of expression matters | Reply