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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
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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
10th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British Investment in Ethiopia
The development of Ethiopia’s private sector is still at an early stage, following the ravages inflicted by the former communist regime. Gradually foreign direct investment (FDI) is helping to make up the gap which has been created in the economy, while the local private sector strengthens and matures over the age. The Government of Ethiopia […]
10th January 2014 Toronto, Canada
Global SIN Conference 2013: A summary from Twitter
Trouble reading this story or moving through pages? Check it out on Storify here: http://storify.com/SINCanada/global-sin-conference-2013 [View the story “Global SIN Conference 2013” on Storify]
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10th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Turkey: an economic miracle?
Who is referring to Turkey as one of “The next economic giants”? The answer is Jim O’Neill, the British economist famous for inventing the term “BRIC” – for Brazil, Russia, India and China – in 2001 as the next big thing in the world economy. Since then, these economies have grown strongly. Now […]
10th January 2014 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Embassy Year in Review and a Look Ahead to 2014
The Following is a post by Robin Ord-Smith, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Tajikistan. January seems an appropriate time to look back to 2013 and give the Embassy and state of the bilateral relationship an End of Term report. And to look forward to 2014 and make some New Year resolutions as well as some predictions and […]
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8th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Jordan on the Security Council
The New Year saw the usual spate of cartoons about the departure of the old year and the arrival of 2014. For Jordan, the New Year brought the start of the country’s two-year stint on the United Nations Security Council. This role brings major new responsibilities. But what does it mean in practice? What can […]
7th January 2014 Budapest, Hungary
Looking Forward, Looking Back
I can’t quite believe that 2013 has passed already. 12 months has gone by like they were 12 weeks. It’s a good sign that it’s been a fun and busy year. And over the holidays I thought, briefly, about all that had happened. Not a scientific or well researched review of the year – just […]
7th January 2014 Brasilia, Brazil
The Importance of Social Movements on Women’s Rights and their role in Politics and Creative Informal Economy – guest blog by Célia Sacramento
Located in the state of Bahia, Salvador is a Brazilian city whose population is mostly composed of afro-descendants. These afro-descendant women have always had a distinct position either as head of the household or working informally. It is reasonable to say that they were the first individual entrepreneurs in Brazil. For a long time, […]
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6th January 2014 Havana, Cuba
Seven wishes for 2014
A new year brings the opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months and look forward to the future. It’s a time to make resolutions and plan for the coming year. Here are my seven wishes for Cuba in 2014. 1. More measures are introduced that unleash creativity, innovation and entrepreneurism. Cubans are great people, amongst […]
6th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Taking the Pledge
Last Friday I was a guest speaker at an event to help UK company Diageo launch their “Shoom Shufair”/ Don’t Drink & Drive Campaign. This aims to encourage anyone planning to drink alcohol to appoint a designated driver (who abstains from alcohol) to take them home afterwards. Similar Diageo campaigns elsewhere in the world have been very […]
5th January 2014 Sana’a, Yemen
الحوار الوطني في اليمن – الطريق إلى النجاح
احظت خلال الأسبوعين الماضيين أن هناك على ما يبدو إصرار متجدد لإنهاء مؤتمر الحوار الوطني على الرغم من أن هناك لا يزال جدل حاد عمّا يجب أن تتضمنه المخرجات النهائية: ما يجب الاتفاق عليه الآن وبشكل قاطع وما يمكن طرحه بالتفصيل في وقت لاحق. بينما كنت خارج اليمن لفترة أسبوعين قضيتها مع الأهل والأصدقاء، سألت […]
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