Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

17th December 2015 New Delhi, India

Rita Sharma

by Rita Sharma

Head of Newton Fund in India

UK India Science and Innovation relationship soars to new heights!

Within a span of a few weeks UK and India relations in Science and Innovation received a new impetus by a number of high profile visits! In mid-November, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the UK during which he, along with Prime Minister David Cameron announced a number of joint research and innovation initiatives that address […]

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17th December 2015 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Laura Davies » Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

by Laura Davies

Former Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives

Zero Tolerance

Last week, I marched from Vihara Maha Devi Park to Independence Square behind a 0% Tolerance for Corruption banner.  The march was organised by the Sri Lankan Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption, enlivened by military marching bands and hairy black corruption devils, and sponsored by a range of local and international organisations, […]

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15th December 2015 BCG Shanghai

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by Tim Standbrook

Consul Science & Innovation

UK and China scientists and businesses gather to launch a £9m research call to combat AMR

It seems no generation is free from war, but its nature seems to be ever more varied compared to the 20th century. Aside from conventional struggles against the likes of the Taliban, or the more conceptual fight against terrorism, according to the Lancet, the Guardian, and even the “war cabinet” of the seven Research Councils, […]

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15th December 2015

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

#MastersofSocialMedia

The voice is clear and strong with a hint of pain. “Love,” she sings, “is a losing game”. I’m not at a concert or watching a movie.  I’m at Sentez College, a school in the Turkish city of Sakarya, to present certificates to students who have passed their Trinity College London and Cambridge English exams. […]

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15th December 2015 Beijing, China

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by Lina Xie

Senior Science and Innovation Officer

use high intensity focused ultrasound technology to treat uterine fibroids

Early in December, I accompanied John Pearson Deputy Head of China Department, FCO, Tina Redshaw CG and Mark Watchorn DCG to visit Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology Inc. and the Haifu Hospital in Chongqing. This was my 7th time to visit Chongqing Haifu. Chongqing Haifu and its UK partners have been trying to use high intensity […]

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15th December 2015 Guangzhou, China

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by Ming Liu

Head of Science and Innovation, BCG Guangzhou

The Second Workshop on SKA Data Processing and HPC at Guangzhou

I attended the works the Second workshop on SKA Data Processing and HPC  on 9 December. The workshop is organized by Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and took place at the National Supercomputer Center—Guangzhou. The mathematicians, engineers, scientists and industrialists exchanged ideas on the challenges and the plans for the computing and data processing of […]

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15th December 2015 Beijing, China

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by Morag Brown

Senior Innovation Policy Officer for SIN China

Breaking down barriers

I am always struck, when I attend one of the many workshops that we fund, by the immense value of getting the right people in a room together. Whoever they may be, when you put some Chinese experts on something in a room with some British experts on something, the magic starts to happen. Let […]

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14th December 2015 Geneva, Switzerland

by Julian Braithwaite

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

Developing Countries Need a Successful WTO Most of All

Occasionally you come across a fact that changes how you think. One such moment for me was when I discovered how the world had managed to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger between 1990 and 2015.  It turns out that we met it five years early, meaning that nearly 1 […]

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14th December 2015

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

MARKING INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY ON RADIO IN THE CARIBBEAN

Congratulations to the TCI Human Rights Commission, and it’s director Doreen Quelch-Missick, on arranging a stimulating morning’s conversation on Radio Turks and Caicos on Thursday, 10 December, to mark International Human Rights Day. With guests from government, opposition and civil society the programme was a great boost to the key work of the Commission. In my […]

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