Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

5th June 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

TECH, TALENT, A BROKEN TREADMILL (AND MAJOR TOM)

Last month, we launched the UK Lebanon Tech Hub. You can see a clip of a drone delivering my speech – for the first and last time, I can suggest that Enrique Iglesias take note. I normally try to write speeches while running. Jogging with bodyguards makes me look like the poor man’s slow Madonna, […]

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5th June 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Helping Christians in Iraq

One of the benefits of being accredited to the Holy See is the possibility of listening and speaking to people from across the global Catholic Church who visit Rome to do business at the Vatican. This is useful for the UK, because I can often glean information not available elsewhere in our foreign policy network, […]

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4th June 2015

Paul Brummell, British Ambassador to Romania

by Paul Brummell

Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate

Great Britons supporting the disabled in Romania

Two events on successive days last week demonstrated again to me the important role which Great Britons working with Romanian counterparts in the civil society sector are playing in supporting groups and communities in need of help, in these cases young people coping with disabilities. On Friday I made my second visit to Galati, on […]

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4th June 2015 Havana, Cuba

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by Tim Cole

Former British Ambassador to Cuba

‘El Cubano de la Uni’

This is the third in a series of blogs by Cubans who received Chevening scholarships and have studied or are studying in the UK. This week, Carlos Rangel Irola writes about his experiences, studying an MSc in Finance and Banking at the University of Essex in Colchester. Thanks to Carlos for this great blog! Don’t expect this story to […]

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4th June 2015 Geneva, Switzerland

by Julian Braithwaite

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

Mobilising the United Nations to Save Modern Medicine

With our televisions screens filled by images of seemingly endless civil wars, spiralling sectarian horror, and rising humanitarian misery, many have concluded that the international system is failing, even broken. Yet on 25 May an event took place that tells a different story. One that gives hope to all those who believe that the United […]

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4th June 2015 New Delhi, India

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by Swati Saxena

Senior Science and Innovation Adviser

Tale of an enticing beehive – UK in Milan

The UK is one of 145 nations participating in the World Exposition 2015 which is taking place in Milan from 1 May till 31 October. The UK Pavilion takes the shape of a bee-hive and represents the crucial role played by pollination in providing the food that we eat. Visitors to the hive experience the […]

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3rd June 2015

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by Martin Harris

British Ambassador to Ukraine

A story of a British-built Russian icebreaker, who took part in the Arctic convoys

Guest post by Keith Allan, Consul General in St. Petersburg The Russian ice-breaker, the Krasin, was built in Newcastle in 1916-17 and went on to play an important role in the Arctic Convoys of World War II. In this blog, Consul General Keith Allan talks about his recent visit to Newcastle University where a model […]

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3rd June 2015 Athens, Greece

British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer

by John Kittmer

Former UK ambassador to the Hellenic Republic

From Mystras to Kardamyli: A hike in honour of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor

“On the map, the southern part of the Peloponnese looks like a misshapen tooth fresh torn from its gum with three peninsulas jutting southward in jagged and carious roots. The central prong is formed by the Taygetus mountains…” This morning, thanks to the Benaki Museum, I was standing in the study of the great man […]

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