Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

8th April 2014 Washington DC, USA

Brad Keelor

by Bradley Keelor

Senior Science and Innovation Policy Advisor

Big Data: More Than Just a Pretty Face

Buzzword alert: If you haven’t heard the phrase big data, you may have been living under a rock for quite some time. It’s everywhere. When people are talk about ‘working in the cloud’ and making ‘predictions about elections,’ they’re talking about using big data. Sounds impressive, right? Well… if you don’t know what the phrase […]

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8th April 2014

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by Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos in the international limelight

Turks and Caicos’s Moment in the Limelight Turks and Caicos will be in the international spotlight again next week, when we welcome an international team bringing to our islands the Queen’s Baton relay. This is the curtain raiser to the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland this July, when TCI will be among 70 countries […]

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8th April 2014 Mumbai, India

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by Vijay Iyer

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

Interview with Clive Hickman – Chief Executive, The Manufacturing Technology Centre

On my recent visit to the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, I met with the Chief Executive, Dr. Clive Hickman, and asked him about his plans for engaging with India. Tell us about the recent award from the World Bank? The World Bank project is approximately $400m and will be used to upgrade the […]

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7th April 2014 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

Defence Cooperation and the Franco-British Council

We recently held here a conference on the issue of defence cooperation between Britain and France, organised by the Franco-British Council. This is a non-governmental organisation that has just celebrated 40 years of working to bring thinkers together between France and the UK; and they now have an annual conference on defence once in France […]

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7th April 2014 Budapest, Hungary

by Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Gadgets, Drones, Opportunities

Guest blog by Dr. Péter Stauber, Hungarian Ministry of Interior’s Head of EU Cooperation Department, on his visit to the Security and Policing Conference in Farnborough, at the end of March 2014.   It was an idea from the British Embassy, which generated support among the leadership of my organization, namely the Ministry of Interior […]

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7th April 2014

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by Martin Harris

British Ambassador to Ukraine

Security depends on Judges, not just Generals

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph recently  William Hague argued that Ukraine’s future security depends crucially on dismantling the oligarchic state that characterised Yanukovych’s rule and taking resolute steps to tackle corruption. And he advocated more determined action in tackling corruption in the Balkans as well, to ensure strong, stable and democratic states in this part […]

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7th April 2014 Mumbai, India

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by Vijay Iyer

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

The Manufacturing Technology Centre

Recently, I visited the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) spread across a 12,000 square metre facility in Ansty Park, Coventry. Established in 2010 to bridge the gap between academia and industry, and founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd., the MTC is one of the seven centres, which make […]

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7th April 2014 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

A Visit to UBD’s Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre

I recently had the chance to visit UBD’s Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre (KBFSC). With me on this day long Saturday trip were colleagues from London and the High Commission, as well as James Margrove, an intern from the University of Aberdeen who recently guest blogged about his research work in Brunei. My main interest […]

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6th April 2014 Sofia, Bulgaria

Dobre Doshli!*

by Dr Annie Kay Dr Annie Kay has been a regular visitor to Bulgaria since 1974. Annie has deeper knowledge of Bulgarian history, nature and cultural traditions than many Bulgarians. She is Chairman of The British-Bulgarian Society, an organisation aiming to promote friendship, understanding and cultural relations between the people of Britain and Bulgaria. In […]

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4th April 2014 USA

Spencer Mahoney

by Spencer Mahony

HM Consul and UKTI Regional Director for the South East United States

Come Together, Right Now, Over to Liverpool!

When I was growing up, I remember hearing stories about the mass pilgrimages that people made to Liverpool in the hopes of hearing the Beatles play live. Although Beatlemania has just celebrated its 50 year anniversary, (is there now One Direction mania?), Liverpool still attracts millions of tourists who want to experience the city’s multiple […]

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