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
17th December 2014 Mumbai, India
UK-India workshop on affordable assisted living technologies for elderly
Readers of my previous blog might recall that I had mentioned about a follow-up activity that I was working on to bring together UK and Indian experts interested in assisted living technologies (ALTs) for the elderly. I’m pleased to say that we did run a successful event at IISc Bangalore on 19 November. This was a first […]
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17th December 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
How will we remember?
The 26th of December 2004 is not a day the world will easily forget. An earthquake measuring 9.3 on the Richter scale off the coast of Indonesia triggered one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history: a monstrous tidal wave that struck the coasts of at least thirteen countries, killing nearly 300,000, of whom […]
17th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australia, we’re all riding with you today
The eyes of the world focused on a small chocolate cafe in Sydney’s Martin Place this week as the tragic events of the hostage-taking played out. This was front page news in the media in Britain and all around the world. Such events strike a particular chord because everyone thinks “if it’s happening to ordinary […]
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16th December 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Pirin Where I Feel Totally Allive
by James Hughes James Hughes has been living in Bulgaria for over 18 years. The Pirin Mountains are a huge expanse of pure wilderness barely touched by civilisation. Remote and wild they offer total freedom to the adventurous! Helicopter support is a dream, support full stop is pretty limited but that’s the joy, Pirin is […]
16th December 2014 New Delhi, India
Looking back at 2014
With another very busy year drawing to a close, I’ve been reflecting on what we’ve achieved and what’s still to do. I can’t do full justice here to all that the team have delivered in the last 12 months but I wanted to share a few highlights with you. I’d also welcome your feedback on […]
16th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Romanian Revolution through British Eyes/Michael Atkinson: ‘Bucharest during the 1989 Revolution’
By December 1989 the situation in Romania for the population was bad. Years of erratic dictatorial rule, ever increasing privation and austerity had produced an atmosphere ripe for change. But because of the very powerful communist tyranny and repression not even the most expert and experienced diplomatic and foreign media observers foresaw the sudden overthrow […]
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16th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How to get (even) more investment in Turkey
I recently had the honour to speak on a panel at a Financial Times Conference on International Financial Centres in Istanbul. The conference included an interesting presentation by Turkey’s Investment Support and Promotion Agency (ISPAT) on Turkey’s powerful economic fundamentals and the potential benefits for foreign businesses in investing here. British companies have been paying […]
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15th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Romanian Revolution through British Eyes/ Bernard Marshall: ‘Two days of the Romanian Christmas Revolution in December 1989’ (Chapter II)
Continued from 12 December Friday, December 22nd, Alecu Russo Diplomatic quarters 08.00 am Eleanor had not yet turned up. I was finishing breakfast and wondering in the quietness of morning whether it was all over. Had the police/soldiers and all the apparatus of the Police State finished the job last night, and cleared all the […]
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15th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Britain’s global horizons: international partners and penguins
The UK’s fourteen Overseas Territories add a particular dimension to British foreign policy and our world view. I often write in these pages about the global Holy See network. The United Kingdom has long had, and still retains, a global role, of which our fourteen Overseas Territories are both one result and an ongoing manifestation. […]
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14th December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A Town Like Alice
“The Alice”, Alice Springs – the very name evokes our image of the “real” Australia. In fact the average Australian lives in a suburb in Sydney or Melbourne: it’s one of the most urbanized societies in the world. But the Outback certainly lives up to its image: searing heat, deep red ochre soil, and vast […]