Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

2nd October 2015

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

PROMOTING THE UK OVERSEAS TERRITORIES IN THE CARIBBEAN AND BEYOND

Question: What do you call a meeting of British Overseas Territories’ Caribbean Governors? Caribguvs…. Britguvs…..? Unlike CHOGM ( Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), with a convenient shorthand, no acronym  seems to roll off the tongue so easily. But nonetheless the Governors of the  five Caribbean Territories – Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and […]

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2nd October 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

Turkey: media freedom, stability and prosperity

A politically motivated protest outside a newspaper office results in physical damage and intimidation.  Politicians and media make threats against specific individuals.  Days later, one of those individuals – Ahmet Hakan, a prominent journalist – is physically attacked, and hospitalised. These developments are wrong in themselves.  They are also terrible for Turkey’s image overseas; and […]

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2nd October 2015 Canberra, Australia

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by Emily Byrne

Senior Policy Adviser on Climate, Energy and Political issues

Historic global agreement on sustainable development

Through my work in climate diplomacy, I’ve learned that it’s often very difficult to get countries to agree on things. So when they do, it’s cause for celebration. Especially when they agree on important things, like an ambitious and hopeful vision of what the world should look like 15 years from now. On 25 September this […]

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1st October 2015 Vancouver, Canada

Rupert Potter

by Rupert Potter

British Consul General, Vancouver

Where East & West Meet

It is impossible to calculate wisdom. You can count the number of people in a room, add up the amount of peer reviewed publications, or years spent living among different cultures, even an average IQ. If you were minded, you could use these metrics to get an idea of whether you were surrounded by knowledge.

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1st October 2015 Tripoli, Libya

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

WHO CARES ABOUT THE ECONOMY?

Who am I?  I live in a country that sits on enormous wealth.  But this country turned in the worst economic performance in the world in 2014 and was 188th out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s Doing Business report. This is Libya.  A country with the largest oil reserves in Africa and a […]

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1st October 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

A Maldivian experience of Chevening

In the latest in our series of guest blogs to promote the UK’s Chevening Scholarship programme, Alieen Niyaz recounts her experience of studying in the UK as a Maldivian Chevening Scholar. On the very week I arrived in London as a Chevening Scholar, I received an invitation on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen and […]

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1st October 2015 Dublin, Ireland

Martin Oxley

Martin Oxley

Strategic Adviser, UKTI

Trade and Investment – It’s all about innovation based partnerships – here’s a starter for 10

It was great to host our Minister for Trade and Investment in Poland last week – excellent timing and lot’s of focus on fundamentals aimed at driving a strong business growth agenda. Let’s consider three cornerstones for leadership in trade and investment: Inward investment as we look at it or using the UK as a […]

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30th September 2015 London, UK

Rachel Shaw

Rachel Shaw

Digital Communications Manager

Finding the time for some digital learning

Most communications professionals want to sharpen their digital communication skills, but we all know it’s hard to find the time to learn new skills and practice them. September was digital learning month for the Communication Directorate at the FCO. Our digital team offered up their creative skills and time to run training sessions and demos […]

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30th September 2015

Paul Brummell, British Ambassador to Romania

by Paul Brummell

Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate

The Story of SMURD

SMURD might sound to the British ear like one of those evil syndicates aiming to take over the world in a sixties spy caper. Or possibly a new brand of detergent. But the acronym actually stands for “Serviciul Mobil de Urgenta, Reanimare si Descarcerare”. It is a Romanian mobile emergency service, which began life in […]

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