Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

14th December 2015 Bangalore, India

Sunil Kumar M

by Sunil Kumar

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

A whirlwind tour to UK’s manufacturing research centres

Unlike other visits to the UK, this one was different. I and my colleague Vijay Jasuja from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) went on a tour to the UK with an interesting and vibrant mix of academics and R&D Heads of Indian manufacturing companies to visit the high value manufacturing catapults and universities from October […]

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14th December 2015

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

አመሰግናለሁ Farewell…

Time to move on and let someone else take a turn. This is my last day in extraordinary Ethiopia as the British Ambassador. Goodbyes are never easy, but I have had an amazing four years getting to know this place – full of hospitable people and outstanding experiences. But as is common for most diplomats, we […]

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14th December 2015 Beijing, China

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by Karen Maddocks

First Secretary and Head of the Beijing Science and Innovation Network

Robotics with Chinese characteristics

Science and Innovation should be fun. Too often in the Embassy my team becomes engulfed in all sorts of not-so-fun activities like policy briefings and project admin. So when an opportunity came along to accompany a delegation of British robotics experts to Beijing’s World Robot Conference, we jumped at the chance. In the interests of […]

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14th December 2015 Canberra, Australia

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by Emily Byrne

Senior Policy Adviser on Climate, Energy and Political issues

Why the Paris climate agreement matters, and what happens next

Emily Byrne has been working on climate policy for both the British and Australian governments for the last six years. We have a deal from the Paris talks! I’m stoked. Many people have worked for many years to make this agreement happen, and it’s at the most optimistic end of what I could have hoped for. Here’s my […]

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11th December 2015 Montreal, Canada

Consul General Nick Baker

by Nick Baker

Consul General, Montreal

Climate Change Gets Personal

The climate change conference in Paris wrapped up today. Over the past two weeks there has been an array of commitments by governments around the World, including the UK’s, to tackle the climate change phenomenon and reduce the emissions that contribute to it. But what action are we all going to take as individuals?

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11th December 2015 Paris, France

Kate Hart

Kate Hart

Development and climate change officer

COP21: the best things come to those who wait

The UK office during COP21, Le Bourget

This time last week we were at the start of COP21. The conference centre was smelling of woodchip (you can really tell how hard France have worked at making COP21 sustainable), there were still freebies being handed out, delegates were relatively smiley and positive (directly proportional to the quality/quantity of freebies and coffee, I have […]

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11th December 2015 New Delhi, India

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by Swati Saxena

Senior Science and Innovation Adviser

Post Harvest Technologies – New Ties – UK and India

The end of November saw the much anticipated launch of a joint funding call on Agri-Food. This call is funded by Newton-Bhabha – our five year £50 million joint programme with India. Under Newton-Bhabha, Innovate UK, the UK Research Councils and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) plan to invest £10 million on developing joint industrial […]

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10th December 2015 Washington DC, USA

Taiba Razwan & JonRobert 'Tat' Tartaglione

Taiba Razwan & JonRobert 'Tat' Tartaglione

Human Rights Day 2015: Reflections from Week of Women

In October, London hosted the first-ever ‘Week of Women’. The Embassy invited two nominees to share perspectives from and about the US. Taiba Razwan who works for Eliminate Domestic Violence (EDV) & advocates for partnership between the US/UK in this field;  JonRobert “Tat” Tartaglione, a Rhode Island native with diversity and inclusion expertise and currently […]

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10th December 2015 London, UK

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by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

David Lidington blogs for Human Rights Day: Justice and the Rule of Law

Today we commemorate International Human Rights Day. It is an opportunity to mark the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and to reflect on the status of human rights in countries around the world. Through our global network of Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates, the UK Government is working to promote […]

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10th December 2015 Oslo, Norway

Forbi forhandlingene i Paris: klimainnsats etter COP21

Blogginnlegg av Ambassadør Sarah Gillett Forhandlingene i Paris beveger seg framover. Mange land jobber hardt for å få på plass en sterk avtale. Mens forhandlingsledere leter etter en felles plattform de siste dagene av COP21, passer det godt å minne oss selv på at alle har en rolle å spille i å finne de langsiktige […]

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