Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

3rd February 2014 Mumbai, India

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by Vijay Iyer

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

Interview with Prof. Peter Lindstedt, Imperial College London

During the recent GREAT Britain campaign in Indore (January 15-16, 2014), Prof. Peter Lindstedt from the Imperial College London delivered a couple of interesting talks on automotive engineering to academic and industry audiences. In the middle of a bustling networking session, I was able to find a quiet corner to chat up with Prof. Lindstedt […]

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3rd February 2014 Mumbai, India

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by Vijay Iyer

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

S&IN in Indore

The UK Science & Innovation Network (S&IN), India partnered with the UK Trade & Investment to invite Prof. Peter Lindstedt from the Imperial College London to the GREAT Britain campaign in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) during January 15-16, 2014. Prof. Lindstedt is the Consul for the Faculty of Engineering & Business School, and Professor of thermofluids […]

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31st January 2014 Washington DC, USA

James Barbour

by James Barbour

Press Secretary and Head of Communications

A whole new world

The following is a guest post by Dean Churm, British Consul and Consular Regional Operations Manager for the eastern and southern United States. The British Vice-Consulate in Orlando first opened its doors in 1994 following the growth in charter holiday packages to the Disney area (or the House of the Mouse as it is sometimes known locally). Over […]

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31st January 2014 Brasilia, Brazil

by Indranil Chakrabarti

Development Counsellor

Catalysing Partnerships – Guest blog by Mariana Almeida

The staff of the UK Department for International Development in Brasil went through a complete change in less than a year. The team has now a new face and even though each member has his/her own personality and experience, we all share the common goal of working with cooperation and international development in search of […]

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31st January 2014

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Honduras – Running the show

This week I represented the UK at the Presidential inauguration in Honduras. From a personal perspective – or let’s say from one diplomat to another – I marvelled at how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs managed to handle delegations from over 90 countries and make sure that we were all in the right place at […]

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31st January 2014

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by Bruce Bucknell

Former British Deputy High Commissioner Kolkata

Fusion

Many Belarusians ask me about cooking in Britain.  I’ve resisted writing about it so far, but next week the embassy will take part in the Minsk international Book Fair for the first time.  We want to convey a better understanding of contemporary Britain.  One of the themes we will feature is cooking. Britain hasn’t been […]

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31st January 2014 Vientiane, Laos

Philip Malone

by Philip Malone

Ambassador to Lao PDR

January 2014 Monthly Snapshot

  January 2014 Look what we have been busy with at the Embassy this month! Happy New Year! The British Embassy Vientiane launched into the New Year with an ambitious agenda as an already established and settled diplomatic mission, full of plans for high-level work in 2014.  LGBT rights success! Anan Bouapha, UK in Laos […]

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31st January 2014

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Defence Advisers

Last night the Defence Minister and a range of other senior defence figures came to dinner at my residence, Westminster House. They joined us to bid farewell to my Defence Adviser, Brigadier Will Taylor, at the end of his tour in Canberra. They enjoyed supping from my range of British ales, including Spitfire and Bombadier. […]

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30th January 2014 Budapest, Hungary

by Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Top 10 Public Diplomacy Achievements in 2013 at the British Embassy in Budapest

1. GREAT Campaign: Innovation is GREAT, Formula 1 Grand Prix campaign As part of the Central Europe Network’s GREAT campaign, we organised a high profile programme for the Hungarian Grand Prix. The campaign comprised of bringing a vintage London double decker bus to the race circuit to serve as a special venue for business meetings. […]

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30th January 2014 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

The UK-France Summit 2014

David Cameron and François Hollande at the G8 Summit in Lough Erne, 2013 - Credits: Présidence de la République

This week we are holding the next in a series of summits between Britain and France, with President Hollande travelling to the UK. The summit is being held on an airbase in the south of England to emphasise the importance of the defence and security work that we do together.

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