17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
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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
20th October 2014 Havana, Cuba
Britain through Cuban eyes
I’m still smiling. We’ve just come to the end of ten very successful days of British culture in Havana; ten days of British music, history, theatre, science, film and dance. There were events throughout the city, at all times of day and night and for a range of audiences, including kids. We explored the breadth […]
20th October 2014 Paris, France
Happy birthday to the Hôtel de Charost!
Two hundred years ago this week, the British Government paid Pauline Borghese 800,000 Francs for this wonderful house behind me, the Hôtel de Charost. And it has been the British Ambassadors’ Residence ever since then.
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20th October 2014 Yerevan, Armenia
Good example of UK-Armenia collaboration in Healthcare
I really enjoyed my visit on Saturday to Armenak & Ann Tadevossian’s medical centre in Kosh, a great example of a UK diaspora project. This is a newly-built, well-equipped polyclinic which, thanks to the generosity of diaspora and local business donors, runs rehabilitation services for children with disabilities during the week, and offers specialist appointments […]
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20th October 2014 London, UK
Need for a large-scale and inclusive fight against ISIL
On 26 September 2014, the British Parliament voted in favour of British military strikes in Iraq targeted at ISIL. This decision followed a request to the UN Security Council by the Government of Iraq for support in confronting the ISIL menace. This means that we and other states have a clear basis in international law […]
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20th October 2014 Dublin, Ireland
Cambridge and Warsaw Universities come together to foster innovation
Our Innovation is GREAT campaign is a top priority for both our team and for our Embassy colleagues across the Central Europe region. So I was delighted to attend a press conference in our Embassy on 20 October, where an innovation partnership between the University of Cambridge and the University of Warsaw was announced by […]
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18th October 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Journey into emotional territory – IHRA’s visit to Macedonia
Just occasionally a diplomat’s work takes us into deeply emotional territory. That happened here this week with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s visit to Skopje. The IHRA (www.holocaustremembrance.com) exists to foster international cooperation to support Holocaust education, remembrance and research. The UK holds the Chair this year. And in that role Sir Andrew Burns (ex-FCO, […]
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17th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A year of warm welcomes
It hardly seems possible that it was a year ago this October that Jill and I flew into Provo airport, took a connecting flight to Grand Turk, and 24 hours later were in the charming House of Assembly building for my swearing-in ceremony as the Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands. I said in my […]
17th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What is the UK doing in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
When I arrived in Mostar in July for the in-country stage of my language training, almost the first new phrase I learned was ‘teorija zavjere’, or ‘conspiracy theory’. Rather to my bemusement, my teacher showed me a TV programme about a US system called HAARP which, apparently, was not only responsible for the floods in […]
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17th October 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visit to Cluj
Cluj-Napoca was not a surprising choice for my first official visit outside Bucharest. And not just because it is Romania’s second city. The thriving British Business Group of Transylvania is testimony to the strength of the British business community, and I was delighted to meet up with its members at a local Indian restaurant. From […]
16th October 2014 Brasilia, Brazil
Nutrition 4 Growth – beating hunger and inequality through business and science*
Another week and another important day to be marked! Today we celebrate the Blog Action Day. Since 2007, every year there is a different theme that bloggers around the world post about. Previous themes included Human Rights, Climate Change and Environment. This year’s theme is inequality and today blogs across over 110 countries will write […]
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