Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

5th November 2014 Montreal, Canada

The Frankencell saga continues

  The Frankencell saga we started last year (“Creating-altering life – the Frankencell”) continued after the long awaited visit to Montreal of UK´s Synthetic Biology champion former Minister David Willetts and this third episode discusses last week’s first UK-Canada Synthetic Biology Workshop. British Consul General Nick Baker opened this two-day event in Montreal hosted by […]

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5th November 2014 London, UK

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by Rob Fenn

Head of Human Rights and Democracy Department, FCO

New York and the Human Rights ‘Third Committee’ at the United Nations

I have grounds to be nostalgic about New York, where I cut my teeth on human rights work more than twenty years ago. But I never thought I could be made to feel nostalgic about its “smoke filled rooms” (the root cause of the beige decor at UN HQ). But my colleague, Rhian Checkland, has […]

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5th November 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Taking risks for the Church

Pope Francis often talks of the need for priests to take risks, to get out into the streets, to live the message of the Gospel. This week I met a group of people who are living witnesses to just such an approach – descendants, relatives and friends of Msgr Hugh O’Flaherty, Major Sam Derry, and […]

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4th November 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia

The Judiciary as Macedonia’s Foundation Stone

On Monday we opened the latest part of our long-standing collaboration with Macedonia to develop and strengthen the country’s judicial system. I joined Deputy Justice Minister Biljana Brishkovska-Boskoski, Judge Aneta Arnaudovska, Director of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors in Skopje, and Judge Aleksandra Zafirovska, President of the Judicial Council of Macedonia, in welcoming Sir Robin Auld and his […]

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4th November 2014

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by Carolyn Browne

Former ambassador to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan Armed Forces members took part at Cambrian patrol in Wales

Guest blog by Mark Wentworth, British Defence Attaché to Kazakhstan. Eight members of the Kazakh Armed Forces recently participated in the internationally renowned Exercise CAMBRIAN PATROL that takes place annually in Wales, United Kingdom.  The aim of the exercise is to “provide a challenging patrol environment in order to enhance operational capability”. During the exercise, […]

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4th November 2014 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

25 years of Children of Distress

2014 is an anniversary year because it marks 25 years since the 1989 Revolution. It also marks a milestone in the history of  British NGOs operating in Romania. One such example is Children in Distress, whose pioneer work for HIV positive children in the 1990s paved the way for professional palliative care in Romania. We’ve […]

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3rd November 2014 Tunis, Tunisia

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by Hamish Cowell

Ambassador to Tunisia

What it feels like being part of a historic event: Tunisia’s parliamentary elections 2014

By: Emma Kouki On 26th October, Tunisians went to the polls in their first democratic legislative elections. Tunisia’s path to democracy has been a long, arduous process. After the Revolution in 2011, Tunisia has taken the right steps in securing a democratic political sphere; where one has the choice of choosing the party that speaks […]

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3rd November 2014 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Changes to UK visa application process

On Friday a new British visa centre, where applicants in Uzbekistan can hand in documents and give their biometrics for UK visa applications, opened in the Tashkent Plaza. It’s run by Teleperformance, who won a tender last year to operate Visa Applications Centres on behalf of the UK visa authorities throughout Europe and Central Asia. […]

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3rd November 2014

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

Pockets of Hope

I recently met Peter Hullah and his colleagues who lead the “Women’s Education Partnership” a small British NGO working in Sudan to support women’s literacy. They are doing great work and we are delighted to be able to give them some modest help. Here is their story. “Listen to the disadvantaged and displaced women and […]

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