Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

6th July 2015 Asuncion, Paraguay

Jeremy Hobbs British Ambassador to Paraguay

by Jeremy Hobbs

Former British Ambassador to Paraguay

Promocionando Paraguay en el Reino Unido

Nuestro último blog se enfoca en una de las prioridades de la Embajada: la de promover más comercio e inversión en Paraguay. Benjamin Hawksbee, un miembro clave de nuestro equipo, gerente del nuevo Centro de Negocios Paraguayo-Británico localizado en la Embajada habla sobre las iniciativas que toma en conjunto con la rejuvenecida Cámara de Comercio […]

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6th July 2015 Asuncion, Paraguay

Jeremy Hobbs British Ambassador to Paraguay

by Jeremy Hobbs

Former British Ambassador to Paraguay

Promoting Paraguay in the UK

Out latest blog focuses on one of our Embassy priorities: promoting more trade and investment in Paraguay. Benjamin Hawksbee, a key member of our team who manages the new British Business Centre located in the Embassy, talks about the exciting initiatives he is taking in partnership with a rejuvenated British Paraguayan Chamber of Commerce to […]

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6th July 2015 Brasilia, Brazil

by Thais Nogueira

Political Assistant

Our woman In… Ribeirão Preto – Guestpost by Jaqueline Wilkins

When Almeida Júnior painted O Caipira Picando Fumo in 1893, a work that so well portrayed the ordinary man in the interior of São Paulo, he did not imagine that 122 years later the caipira would be enjoying high-quality operas, producing urban culture in its various forms, travelling abroad and enjoying international cuisine, driving Land […]

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6th July 2015 Madrid, Spain

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by Daniel Pruce

British Ambassador to the Philippines and to Palau

Three thoughts on ambition, hunger and impact

I spent a lot of March, April, May and June preparing, discussing, drafting, revising, finalising, submitting, quality controlling and validating staff performance appraisals. I reckon I was involved in well over 100. I know many of my colleagues will have worked on many, many more. It’s important work so it has to be rigorous, transparent […]

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6th July 2015 London, UK

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by Alison Daniels

Digital Transformation Leader at UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Come and join our digital team

The FCO has a well established reputation for its digital work. At the heart of driving change is the Digital Transformation Unit, a talented team made up of diplomats and digital specialists working on digital solutions crucial to the UK – tackling conflict, increasing prosperity and helping Brits in trouble overseas. Here’s what’s coming up:- […]

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2nd July 2015

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

Celebrating Waterloo in the Caribbean

While the ceremonies to mark the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo took place in Europe, tucked away in a corner of the Caribbean a more modest event  with some 100 participants, including the Premier of TCI and former Chief Ministers,  was held to mark another “Waterloo”. In 1815 a wealthy Bermudan salt merchant, […]

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2nd July 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

Video: the perils of conspiracy theories

A harvest fails.  Saboteurs are blamed.  A well-know personality dies tragically.  A secret plot is alleged.  Another well-known personality dies tragically.  Rumours circulate that he has faked his death and has been seen in a supermarket near Basingstoke. I have written several times in this blog about conspiracy theories.  Now, if you don’t mind hearing […]

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1st July 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Global networks

This is a networked world. And yet there are few genuinely global networks out there. By that I mean networks that have a capacity to operate globally, co-ordinated centrally but operating in capillary fashion, horizontally in a radial pattern as well as vertically in a hub and spoke model. One of the reasons why we […]

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1st July 2015 Bangalore, India

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by Murtaza Khan

Deputy Head of Science & Innovation, India

Back to Thiruvananthapuram

I recently visited the City of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala with my colleague Sam Kumar from the British Deputy High Commission in Chennai.  Our aim was to see how the city has grown as a hotspot for research and innovation activity in India.  My predecessor, Dr Tom Wells, visited with the same aim in 2012 – and to […]

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