Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

5th January 2015

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

An Australian Christmas and New Year

Back to work after a Christmas/New Year break which is rather longer in Australia than at home. That’s because it’s summer here and with the schools on holiday most Australians take a long break. Many won’t be back until much later in January. In British terms it’s Christmas and August combined. We had our final […]

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5th January 2015

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

2014: the UK in Sudan

2014 was a difficult year for the people of Sudan. As in most countries the principal concerns were probably jobs, standard of living and education. Sudan has had to deal with high inflation and the deteriorating business climate, with the knock-on effect on employment. Conflict continued, leading to deaths, displacements, human rights violations and damage […]

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5th January 2015 Athens, Greece

British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer

by John Kittmer

Former UK ambassador to the Hellenic Republic

Looking back at 2014

Here, the year ended with high drama. In the last few days of December, the car ferry Norman Atlantic blazed on the Adriatic, with tragic loss of life, and the attempt to elect a new President of the Republic failed. If nothing else, 2014 will be remembered because, at its fag end, the country was […]

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2nd January 2015 London, UK

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by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

2014 – year in review

Quick EU pop quiz. Which European leader said in December: “As the European elections showed, the people do not think that Europe must do everything. Europe must do the things that can be done better than we do them in the nation states.” You might imagine it would be someone from the Netherlands – we […]

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2nd January 2015

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

World Day of Peace: Against Modern Slavery

The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the Holy See In his message for the World Day of Peace (1st  January), Pope Francis has returned to the struggle against modern slavery. His address, entitled “No longer Slaves, but Brothers” highlights the many different faces of […]

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1st January 2015

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by Greg Dorey

Diplomat

Further British aid for Ethiopian response to refugees fleeing South Sudan

Half a million South Sudanese refugees who have fled the continuing fighting in #SouthSudan have settled in #Ethiopia, #Kenya and #Uganda. Among them, more than 190,000 refugees have arrived in Ethiopia alone, almost all of them in #Gambella region, since conflict broke out in December 2013. Continuing insecurity and logistical constraints due to heavy rains […]

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31st December 2014 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

by Nikesh Mehta

Counsellor for Foreign Policy and Security

A Year of Tragedies, Triumphs and Togetherness

I wanted to write a blog looking back on 2014 from the High Commission’s perspective but I have to admit that it’s been difficult to get the words right. 2014 was by any measure a challenging year for Malaysia and the High Commission. The nation has had to deal with an unprecedented number of large-scale […]

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30th December 2014 Kingston, Jamaica

by Samara South

Political and Press Support Officer

First Impressions

Below is a guest blog from our Desk Officer in London , Andy Holbrook. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to learn more about the UK’s relationship with Jamaica when I was invited to stay as a guest at the High Commissioner’s Residence in Kingston. I was recently appointed as Deputy Head of the […]

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