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
29th October 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
Falling in Love Through Chevening
Siti Nurfateha, better known as Teah, is the recipient of the 2014/15 Chevening Scholarship in Brunei. She is currently studying a Masters in Anthropology in Development and Rights at Goldsmiths, University of London. Read her guest blog about her time so far in London as a Chevening Scholar & why you should also take this opportunity to apply […]
29th October 2014 Mumbai, India
Affordable Assisted Living Technologies for the Elderly
From experience I can say that it is relatively easy to put together a workshop or an event, but the real challenge actually lies in following up on doing what we said we’d do; capturing the essence of what comes out of the discussions and then maintaining the relationships with stakeholders and partners with whom […]
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27th October 2014 Mumbai, India
UK-India deliberations on hybrid and electric vehicles
Last week (October 13-14), the UK Science and Innovation team partnered with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team to organise a UK-India programme on hybrid and electric vehicles in Pune, Maharashtra. This workshop was part of a series of events graced by Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who was visiting […]
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27th October 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Canalettos and Brueghels, EU climate and energy policy and fantastic people
Guest blog by Kriszti Kocsis, Senior Policy Officer (Energy, Climate and Environment) at the British Embassy. I spent two days in the beautiful Prague Castle on 22-23 October. As part of the GREAT Energy Summit in Prague, among Brueghel and Canaletto paintings in the lovely Lobkowitz Palace, energy industry leaders from the UK and Central Europe met […]
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27th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Big win for South Australia-based British company
The aerospace company Cobham has just been awarded a $640 million contract to provide search and rescue services for the Australian government’s Maritime Safety Authority. Cobham was one of several successful British aerospace and defence businesses I visited in Adelaide last week including British Aerospace, Babcock and Ultra. Defence procurement is a complex business, and […]
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24th October 2014 Colombo, Sri Lanka
How Chevening changed my life
The Chevening Scholarship programme celebrated its 30th anniversary earlier this year. It’s a universally popular programme, offering scholarships for post-graduate study in the UK to outstanding individuals who have the capacity to be leaders in their chosen areas of work. So it’s great news that the anniversary is being celebrated by an increase in the […]
24th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Youth – or the transition from childhood to adulthood
I give many talks in English because there is a good demand for me to do so. Most of my audiences are younger people at universities, and one asked earlier this year how different young people in Belarus were to those in Britain. I had to think hard before I gave my answer. Much of […]
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23rd October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Erradicando la violencia con una patada
Cualquiera que haya visto el equipo hondureño U23 jugar en los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres en el 2012 sabrá lo apasionados que los hondureños son hacia el fútbol. Especialmente si estuvieron en el St. James Park para ver la victoria contra España y escucharon las ovaciones que esto provocó. Bueno, la semana pasada no estuvimos […]
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23rd October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Kicking violence into touch
Anyone who saw the Honduran U23 national team playing in the London Olympics in 2012 will know how passionate Hondurans are about football. Especially if you were at St James Park to see the victory against Spain and heard the cheering this provoked. Well, last week we weren’t in one of the glorious stadiums of […]
23rd October 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Memories from Sofia
by Prof. Richard Crampton In his story for the #100UKBG series, the renowned British historian Professor Richard Crampton, author of the book “A Concise History of Bulgaria”, shares memories of his frequent visits to Sofia over the years. Complement with a video of the lecture “British Perceptions of Bulgaria – Some Personal and Professional Reflections”, […]