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RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
29th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Bulgaria’s Elections: Different This Time?
Last week, I spent a day on the road following the election campaign and various candidates, and will do the same this week. My colleagues in the Embassy have done likewise. It’s a great way to see politicians up close dealing with real people and their real concerns, before they get pulled back into Sofia […]
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28th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Mashrouy is a winner with young Sudanese!
Last year one of the British Embasssy’s most successful and high profile projects was Mashrouy: the TV programme to help identify and support young Sudanese entrepreneurs. It has been described as a cross between the hit BBC shows “Dragon’s Den” and “The Apprentice”. There was huge interest from Sudanese business people, some great ideas for […]
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27th September 2014 Chennai, India
Unsung heroes
Last month I turned 45. I’m not telling you this so you can congratulate or commiserate with me, although my beloved wife did – very sweetly – remind me that I’m now numerically closer to 50 than 40 (thanks darling). But I do find that birthdays are increasingly occasions for reflection. This year, I was […]
26th September 2014 Brasilia, Brazil
Scottish Referendum – Guestpost by Caroline Cowan
It’s not often that one identifies similarities between Brazil and Scotland (although beautiful beaches and a love of delicious deep fried food are 2 things that spring to mind – Scots would love Coxinha and Pão de Queijo, although I’m not sure if Brazilians would take to deep fried Mars Bars or sunbathing at Luskentyre), […]
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26th September 2014 London, UK
Promoting LGBT rights in China
It’s not always easy to promote human rights in China. But people do care. In particular, our statements supporting LGBT rights always achieve a great deal of attention, most of which is very positive. This is despite China refusing to legally recognise same-sex couples and homosexuals face widespread stigma. On 6 September, Brian Davidson, our […]
26th September 2014 Mumbai, India
IIT Bombay
Last month, Tom and I visited the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay. First, we met with Prof. B. Ravi in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Prof. Ravi was part of the Indian delegation I led to the UK in June this year to participate in a 4-day programme on distributed manufacturing, which was jointly […]
26th September 2014 Mumbai, India
UK-India workshop on wave and tidal energy
Next month, a 7-member delegation of UK experts in wave and tidal energy will be touring India from October 28-31 to explore potential research partnerships. The delegation, representing universities of the UK Centre for Marine Energy Research (UKCMER) consortium and the Scottish Association for Marine Science, will be visiting Chennai, and other cities for meetings […]
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26th September 2014 Mumbai, India
Let’s talk hybrid and electric vehicles
Turbocharging, sustainable range extenders, energy recovery – do these terms interest you? Then, please make sure you attend the UK-India workshop on hybrid and electric vehicles in Pune next month on October 14th. We’re bringing a UK delegation of automotive experts to Pune to discuss potential research partnerships with India in building hybrid and electric […]
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25th September 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
A United Nation at the UN
For a week every year, the world’s foreign policy elites relocate to New York for the annual jamboree of statecraft, the UN General Assembly. The pace is frantic – diplomatic speed-dating. But it matters. The UN may not be perfect, but no-one has yet come up with a better idea for global coexistence. It matters […]
25th September 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Working with the community matters!
Last week with the colleagues from the Embassy we spent our day with the children from the day care centre for children with special needs “Dzunica” in Prilep. What a fulfilling and wonderful day! Why – you may ask? We all have our professional, personal and societal goals we want to achieve, and we all […]