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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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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
20th December 2013 London, UK
Foreign Office Digital Strategy: one year on
One year ago this week we published the Foreign Office Digital Strategy, looking at how we would make the most of the opportunities of digital in our work. The Strategy set a clear vision – making use of digital tools in every element of foreign policy work; and moving to provide our services digitally by […]
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20th December 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A Year That Did Justice To The Bilateral Relationship
2012 was by any measure an extraordinary year with historic visits by the British Prime Minister and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. I asked in my end of year blog whether we could maintain the same level of ambition in 2013. Looking back on this year, I can emphatically say that we have! Over […]
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19th December 2013 Vancouver, Canada
You Are The Cast
There are few events as exciting as the countdown to a rocket launch; and few contexts in which the words, “all systems normal” are as welcome…
19th December 2013 Washington DC, USA
Making all voices count online and “IRL”
In my lifetime, the rise of digital communications has changed nearly every aspect of our daily activities. And in foreign policy, the world is changing as a result of digital’s ability to give a voice to so many. We have seen social media play a huge role in regime change in the Arab world, we have […]
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18th December 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Ashes: the rivalry that unites us
So, Australia has won back the Ashes. I was always wary of hubris: I didn’t expect Australia to lightly concede a fourth series defeat in a row. But I don’t think many people anticipated England would perform quite so disappointingly, particularly with the bat. All credit to an Australian team who played outstandingly well. And […]
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18th December 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Christians in the Middle East: A Royal and Government Response
The Religious Freedom Project of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs at Georgetown University organised an important conference in Rome last week on the theme of ‘Christianity and Freedom’. A number of distinguished British academics took part. One of the questions asked was what more are governments doing to stop religious persecution […]
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18th December 2013 Paris, France
My memories of 2013
This Christmas time I’ve been thinking about what was achieved in 2013 and what we have to look forward to in 2014. When I look back at 2013, it was a bumper year for UK-French relations.
18th December 2013 Science and Innovation Network
Indo-UK Design Escapades
I have been a ‘SIN’ner for merely two months but I am consciously obligated to say that I have had the most enriching experience in this short span of time. Just as I finished ‘Innovation’ week it was time to prepare for and welcome the Design Delegation team i.e. Mr John Mathers, CEO, Design Council, Mr […]
18th December 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The weapon of education
Nelson Mandela once said: Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” An inspirational phrase. But how can people use this weapon? And what is the battle they are fighting? The enemy is unemployment. The way for the foot soldiers leaving education to sharpen their swords and be prepared for […]
17th December 2013 Ottawa, Canada
The anatomy of an export action plan
A few weeks ago I attended Trade Minister Ed Fast’s announcement of the Canadian government’s Global Markets Action Plan. Reading through the document, I was struck by the parallels to the UK’s approach to increasing exports…
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