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
5th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human Rights in Peace and Conflict
It’s not been a good couple of weeks for Sudan. The conviction of Meriam Ibrahim on charges of apostasy and adultery has caused outrage internationally. In Sudan everybody I’ve spoken to is thoroughly embarrassed by the case, expects it to be overturned on appeal and fervently hopes that happens sooner rather than later. They may […]
5th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Helping your business grow internationally
“The astonishing thing is that UKTI offers such a fantastic set of resources to help companies.” I’m at an export promotion event in the North of England. The speaker is a British exporter who has been working with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) for years. He is keen to persuade other British businesses to do […]
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5th June 2014 Mumbai
Sugar technology research at Vasantdada Sugar Institute
I often remember those days when I accompanied my grandparents to our sugarcane farm and wondered how do these tall sticks of cane become those lovely sugar crystals? Who does this magic? Well, my questions were answered recently when I visited the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) in Pune. I met the Director General, Shivajirao C. […]
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4th June 2014 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Baroness Vivien Stern blogs about her fourth visit to Tajikistan
The following is a post by Baroness Vivien Stern. I am now back in the UK after my fourth visit to Tajikistan. This was the longest visit I have made – it lasted from 22 to 29 May – and also the hottest. The temperature reached 35 degrees on some of the days. It was also the […]
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4th June 2014 Warsaw, Poland
The Wensleydale Afternoon Tea at Warsaw’s Famous Bristol Hotel with His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex
Wensleydale cheese has a heritage that spans centuries, with its roots firmly set in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. First crafted in the 12th Century by a group of Cistercian monk settlers in Wensleydale, the art of Wensleydale cheese-making was perfected over time, and eventually found itself in the hands of local farmers’ wives. […]
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4th June 2014 Budapest, Hungary
How ‘smart’ do you think the UK is?
Guest blog by Kriszti Kocsis, Senior Policy Officer (Energy, Climate and Environment) at the British Embassy. Much more than most know. So I was glad to be able to publicise the UK’s smart credentials recently. But what are the smart grid and smart cities? Smart grids are the electricity transmission network enabled by digital technology for […]
4th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Time to Act: mobilising Catholic networks against sexual violence in conflict
I often have to remind people that I am accredited not to the Vatican City State, but to the Holy See, the governance of the global Catholic Church. As such, this embassy has reach into an extraordinary worldwide network of civil society organisations, religious congregations, diplomats, universities and other components that make up the Catholic […]
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4th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British MPs in Canberra discuss Malaria and Foreign Policy
A busy week in Canberra with two separate visits by Members of the House of Commons. The Rt Hon Stephen O’Brien MP, the PM’s Special Representative for the Sahel, was in Australia in his capacity as envoy for the Roll Back Malaria campaign. He is a passionate advocate for the cause and believes there is […]
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4th June 2014 Dublin, Ireland
Poland – 25 amazing years
Even in a year of important anniversaries for Poland, the 25th anniversary of Solidarity’s victory in the elections of 4 June 1989 is a special moment. I arrived in Poland for the first time exactly seven years earlier. I would like to be able to say that I predicted what was to come. But I […]
3rd June 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Out of Office
We had our annual Away Day last week. It’s a day for staying out of your office and meeting with the whole Embassy team to chat about how to improve what we do (and how we do it) in the following year. And then to have some fun relaxing together. This year we had really […]