Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

17th March 2014 Warsaw, Poland

Martin Oxley, Head, UKTI Poland

by Martin Oxley

Director of UKTI Warsaw

WHERE’S MY CHEESE? – The GREAT British Food Tour 2014 (part 2)

What you need to know about the GREAT London Food Scene in 5 minutes…… We met up with Adrian and his friends and we went on tour round Clerkenwell, Smithfield and a whole area inspired by the arts and media scene. Before we do that we took stock of what is now arguably the GREATEST […]

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17th March 2014 Warsaw, Poland

Martin Oxley, Head, UKTI Poland

by Martin Oxley

Director of UKTI Warsaw

WHERE’S MY CHEESE? – The GREAT British Food Tour 2014 (part 1)

I’d just like to make it quite clear this blog is not about cheese! I am simply using the absence of GREAT British cheese in Poland as a synonym for a total lack of fine, specialty foods in this ravenous market. I am in the midst of a pasta, camembert and tapas revolution. Fast food […]

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15th March 2014 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Ukrainians must choose their own future

Resolving the Ukraine crisis is a top priority for Britain and Poland: this matters to us because we both believe in a world where the rule of law is upheld and territorial integrity respected. We need to deter further Russian military action and de-escalate the situation. Our Prime Ministers David Cameron and Donald Tusk have […]

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14th March 2014 Brasilia, Brazil

by Thais Oliveira

Political Intern

The Islands with open doors

Last Tuesday, March 11, was the first anniversary of the referendum on the political status of the Falkland Islands. A year ago on that date, 99.8% of voters said yes to keeping their political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom. As we mentioned previously, the Members of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly […]

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14th March 2014 Washington DC, USA

by Andrew Preston

Development Counsellor

We Stand #withSyria in DC

Saturday will mark the third anniversary of the start of the conflict in Syria. For me, Syria has been a big part of my working and personal life this week and for the last few years. In my day job we’ve been working with the US and others on ways to secure better access into Syria for […]

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14th March 2014 Budapest, Hungary

by Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Reflections on 25 Years Service with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Guest blog by Technical Services Officer Matthew Smith  I joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in late 1988 as an apprentice Telecommunications Technical Officer. With keen interests in travel and electronic engineering, this seemed the ideal job opportunity and the subsequent 25 years have not disappointed. The recruitment process had taken half a year […]

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14th March 2014 Warsaw, Poland

Martin Oxley, Head, UKTI Poland

by Martin Oxley

Director of UKTI Warsaw

Say Cheese – Say Caerphilly

Say Cheese – We’ve been all the way to Wales to taste some Caerphilly Piesek P is on the lookout for GREAT British Cheese in Poland – as he finds it he’ll let you know – just smile. Often known as “The Crumblies” due to its texture, Caerphilly cheese was mainly produced on small family […]

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14th March 2014 Havana, Cuba

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by Tim Cole

Former British Ambassador to Cuba

Why on earth would an Ambassador in Cuba tweet?

A lot of my diplomatic counterparts in Havana look completely bemused when I talk to them about Twitter or tell them what my last blog was about. That’s not because they don’t know what Twitter or blogging is but because they don’t really see social media as playing a role in their daily diplomacy. Many […]

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14th March 2014 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Science

Last week Dr Eric Morgan, a scientist from Bristol University’s School of Veterinary Sciences, visited Tashkent for a round table with the Academy of Sciences in Uzbekistan. The topic was animal parasites and the impact on their prevalence and transmission of climate change. I spent a fascinating morning listening to Dr Morgan speaking about the […]

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