Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

9th March 2015

Paul Brummell, British Ambassador to Romania

by Paul Brummell

Head of Soft Power and External Affairs Department, Communication Directorate

The GREAT Mega Mission: the largest UK commercial mission to Romania since the Revolution

Over the next two days, the GREAT Mega Mission – a trade delegation of around 50 British businesses – will pitch camp in Bucharest for an intensive round of seminars, meetings and networking opportunities, before moving on to Bulgaria for the second and final leg. The Mission is a milestone event: the largest UK commercial […]

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9th March 2015 London, UK

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by Richard Moore

FCO Political Director

Cyprus: a time for fresh thinking?

I’d like to congratulate Cyprus Academic Dialogue and USAK on the conference “Turkey and Cyprus Regional Peace & Stability” last weekend, at which Mr George Papandreou and Mr Hikmet Çetin spoke.  It was fascinating and inspiring to hear Mr Papandreou describe how Greece and Turkey were able, in the late 1990s, to rise above the […]

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8th March 2015 London, UK

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by Philip Parham

UK Commonwealth Envoy, former British Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

Guest blog: Muna Harib AlMuhairi – International Women’s Day

20 years ago, the fourth “World Conference on Women” met in Beijing from 4-15 September 1995. The conference launched a historical document to promote and protect women’s rights around the world: The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The declaration stated that all participating governments would work to advance the goals of equality, development and […]

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8th March 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Crayons and Catharsis: Inspirational Lebanese Women on International Women’s Day

As we mark International Women’s Day, discrimination and violence against women and girls remain all too present. In Lebanon we continue to lobby for better political representation for women, and to challenge inequality, an issue worth being undiplomatic about. I want to share with you guest blogposts by two great Lebanese women who have inspired […]

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7th March 2015 Hanoi, Vietnam

Giles Lever, UK Ambassador to Vietnam

by Giles Lever

British Ambassador to Vietnam

International Women’s Day

To mark International Women’s Day, it’s my pleasure to turn over this space to my first ever guest bloggers: two dynamic Vietnamese women from the world of business, writing on the theme of female economic empowerment through the prism of their own life experiences.  Le Len is head of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants […]

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6th March 2015

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

CELEBRATING FEMALE FIRE-POWER IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS

On Sunday 8 March countries around the world mark International Womens’ Day. I’m pleased that Turks and Caicos will be joining in those celebrations. We have a great deal to be proud of. In politics our country’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport is Akierra Missick. Her position as Minister of Youth […]

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6th March 2015

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by Edward Ferguson

British Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia

WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

I am, of course, at an immediate disadvantage in writing a blog about the role and representation of women in politics and society on the inescapable basis that I am not one.  But I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a colleague to strong, creative and clever women, and that leaves […]

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6th March 2015

Mark Kent, the British Ambassador to Thailand

by Mark Kent

British Ambassador to Argentina

British Ambassador’s speech on CoST

I am very pleased to see that Thailand is becoming a member of the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST). In doing so, Thailand commits to implement CoST’s international standards by establishing a disclosure and assurance system to enhance transparency in public construction projects. Such a system will build trust in decision-making, help to ensure value […]

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