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 December 2015 Paris, France
COP21: three trends towards fundamental change
With considerable justification, COP21 has been widely hailed as a success. It reached a legally-binding agreement that aims to keep global warming well below 2 degrees, with a review-mechanism towards ever more ambitious targets, and financial commitments to support developing countries on their path towards environmental sustainability. This agreement is far better than most could […]
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23rd December 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
2015: A Year in the Life of the British Embassy in Romania
2015 has been a packed year for the Embassy. These are some of the highlights. 1. Visit of Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond The Foreign Secretary came to Romania on 14 January to discuss our bilateral Strategic Partnership and EU reform with the President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. 2. GREAT Mega Mission A delegation of […]
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23rd December 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
20th Anniversary of the Russian Polar Convoy Club
The Russian Polar Convoy Club of St Petersburg celebrated its 20th anniversary on 19 December. We were delighted that five British veterans of the Arctic Convoys, all in their 90s, travelled from the UK and US (two emigrated after WWII) to participate in anniversary events. A packed three day programme included wreath laying at Piskariovskoye […]
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22nd December 2015 Calgary, Canada
My Experience at the Week of Women UK
I was very excited and honoured to be nominated by the British Consulate-General in Calgary to represent Canada at the Week of Women in London.
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22nd December 2015 Madrid, Spain
The UK meets its promise to resettle 1,000 refugees before Christmas
During the Kosovo crisis in 1999 I saw at first hand the tens of thousands of Kosovar Albanian refugees seeking shelter in neighbouring countries. It showed me the utter misery of being a refugee, fleeing for your life, with your barest possessions, struggling to look after your loved ones, facing uncertainty and vulnerability. Those memories […]
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22nd December 2015 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Yemen UN Consultations – A Step on the Path to Peace
On Sunday 20 December, the first round of UN-brokered consultations on Yemen concluded in Switzerland. All parties at the talks agreed a Communiqué summarising the progress they made and committing to attend the next round of talks, which will begin on 14 January 2016. The international community was not invited by the UN to attend […]
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21st December 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Remembering Middle-Eastern Christians
As we celebrate Christmas, it is right to think of those Christian families who will find it difficult to enjoy the good cheer that we take for granted at this time. They are those who are being persecuted or discriminated against for their faith, who are refugees because they were forced to flee for their […]
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18th December 2015
Soft Skills in Hard Times video blog series(VII): Ben Giddings
Last in a series of video blogs looking at soft skills is Ben Giddings, European Digital Transformation Manager. Ben Giddings and his team oversee digital activity in Europe. In this video, he explains how British embassies and British diplomats make the best use of digital platforms.
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18th December 2015 Dublin, Ireland
Challenges and solutions of cyber security for public and private sector
There is no doubt that cyber security is of growing importance to countries around the world with demand for high quality technology and services booming. Poland is no exception. Last week I spoke at a well-attended cyber security event at the British Embassy in Warsaw. I used this great opportunity to discuss the importance of […]
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18th December 2015 London, UK
Digital diplomacy in 2015
At the start of 2015 the Digital Transformation Unit set itself an ambitious to do list. After the euphoria of celebrating our first anniversary, the year has been defined by hard graft as we’ve worked with colleagues across the FCO to begin work on how to deliver digital services to British people across the world […]