17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
International Day of Women in Diplomacy: UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls visit to Geneva
1st May 2025
The UN Commission on the Status of Women: My first visit as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
23rd January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Top Turkish entrepeneurs – in London
Take five brilliant Turkish entrepreneurs. Add Turkish and British venture capitalists, round-trip tickets to London, consultancy services by accountants and lawyers on setting up in the UK, work visas and tax issues; mentoring sessions; and a guided tour of London’s “Tech City” technology hub. Mix thoroughly and turn out. Result: a host of terrific business […]
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23rd January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Taxpayers
Last week, we formally opened the new Visa Application Centre in Minsk. This was a satisfying moment as we had been working on this for much of last year. The new centre in Minsk is part of a global programme to close visa sections in embassies, and transfer the application process to privately run application […]
23rd January 2015 Budapest, Hungary
Celebrating Robert Burns
Guest blog on the occasion of Burns Night (25 January), written by Deborah Moss, Organising Committee member of “Wee Burns” It is a tribute to the poet, Robert Burns, that Scots have held Burns Suppers for over 250 years to remember a man whom many consider to be Scotland’s most famous son. According to the Johnnie […]
23rd January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Farewell to Perth
My final visit to Perth. It’s actually the Australian city I knew best before I moved here, as it’s just a short hop from my previous post in Singapore (closer than Canberra, 2000 miles and 3 time zones away), and because my Aunt – a “ten pound Pom” – had settled here. I’ve usually got […]
22nd January 2015 Singapore
LEDs lighting the way to a brighter future for energy efficient technology in Malaysia
This guest blog is from Myles McCarthy, Director of Implementation at Carbon Trust, who are currently undertaking a Prosperity Fund project on LED energy efficient technology in Malaysia. I find talking about energy efficiency very interesting, and I do it a lot. But until recently I hadn’t had the opportunity to do it on primetime television […]
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22nd January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Jobs, jobs and jobs
When Peter Sorensen was asked in his final press conference as the EU Special Representative what should be the priorities for the future, his reply was simple: “Jobs, jobs and jobs.” It’s difficult to disagree. Unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina is the highest in Europe at around 30%, with youth unemployment – according to the […]
22nd January 2015 Hanoi, Vietnam
2015 – The Year of ASEAN?
My 2015 began after a relaxing Christmas here in Vietnam with my family. Getting back to work after the holidays started with a trip to Manila. On my way to Manila, I experienced some new beginnings. I took the new Nhat Tan bridge and expressway and saw the newly completed international terminal. (When I first arrived in […]
21st January 2015 Washington DC, USA
Falklands Symposium: Q&A with Dr Steven Campana (Canada)
Following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, the first ever Pan–American Science Delegation to the Falkland Islands will participate in a week-long mission to showcase the beauty of the UK South Atlantic Overseas Territories and immense opportunities for scientific research and collaboration in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Scientists from the US, Canada, Chile, […]
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21st January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Opening up to economic development
The UK’s 2010 Bribery Act is in some ways a daunting piece of legislation. It obliges us all to think about how we operate. It set a legal framework in which we make those judgements. It goes to the heart of ethical and responsible practices. So spending 5 days talking about it with experts in […]
21st January 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Farewell to Melbourne
I’m currently paying my farewell visits to major Australian cities before I depart at the end of my posting in February. Today I’m in Melbourne. It’s a city I must have visited around thirty times in the course of my four year posting. That reflects its importance within Australia. With the second largest population it’s […]