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
22nd September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Christian unity and good causes: small steps, big results
As ambassador to the Holy See, it is quite rare that I get out of Rome for professional purposes. Most of the key contacts and institutions with which the embassy works are, naturally, based in Rome. Although I plug into the global Holy See network, I do that through the hub. So I have had […]
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22nd September 2014 Mumbai, India
UK-India dialogue on advanced manufacturing in Bengaluru
The grand finale of the series of UK-India manufacturing events held this year unfolded in Bengaluru from 10-12 September. I worked with my colleagues Gagan, Leena, Tom, Bincy, Priyanka, and Venkatesh to deliver this 3-day programme, which was jointly organised by the UK Science & Innovation Network and UK Trade and Investment. A 9-member UK delegation […]
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19th September 2014 Havana, Cuba
We need to fight Ebola together
The Cuban government’s decision to send 165 medical staff to West Africa to fight Ebola is very welcome. Working alongside national health workers, international NGO staff, epidemiologists and military staff from a number of countries including the UK, these Cuban doctors and nurses will play a crucial role in the world’s response to this terrible […]
19th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Dress to impress
I recently received an invitation to talk about dress. A business club wanted to hear my views about how to dress for business meetings. I’m always happy to speak in public, but I wasn’t sure that I was the best person to give advice on this subject. I probed for more detail. Apparently, some business […]
19th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The British Visa Application Centre in Istanbul – and Ankara – and five other places in Turkey
I don’t usually write blogs recommending that you immediately click on a link to go somewhere else. But my recent visit to the new British Visa Application Centre in Istanbul leads me to commend to you the blog written earlier this year by Richard Moore, the British Ambassador in Ankara. Richard’s blog is an excellent read, highlighting […]
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19th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Strategic Dialogue talks in Canberra
With all the trouble spots flaring up around the world at the moment, our annual Strategic Dialogue talks with DFAT could not have been more timely. FCO Director General Sir Julian King was in town together with his Ministry of Defence counterpart Peter Watkins for an intensive series of meetings. They discussed developments in the […]
18th September 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Going South
Every 2 or 3 months I try to visit one of Hungary’s regions. It’s important to get out of Budapest, get to know the whole country and make and keep good contacts in the other big cities. This week I went South and visited Pécs with the head of the British Business Centre, Oliver Strommer. […]
18th September 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria
Ruse
by Andy Anderson Andy Anderson moved to the Bulgarian city of Ruse in 1998 to work as Technical Director for the United Nations Beautiful Bulgaria Project, which renovated hundreds of monuments of culture and historic buildings across Bulgaria. Today, 16 years later, Andy still lives in Ruse and is also putting together a book about the British community […]
18th September 2014 Windhoek, Namibia
Caprivi connections
Last month I was fortunate enough to travel up to the extreme north east of Namibia to visit the Zambezi Region and catch up with some innovative UK-funded conservation and tourism projects taking place there. The region gained its new name in August 2013 but is still probably better known internationally by its former name: […]
17th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Box? What box?
I’ve lost count of the number of times we have been exhorted to “think outside the box”. Worthy management gurus parroting clichés and senior managers trying to sound trendy have turned it into a hackneyed and meaningless phrase. The approach it advocates is also self-defeating. It suggests that the box – and the constrained and […]