9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
8th November 2013 Brasilia, Brazil
Size doesn’t matter
Yesterday, the people of the Falkland Islands elected a new Legislative Assembly. So what? Who cares? Well, as a fan of the Islanders and an admirer of their way of life, I do. And much, much more importantly, the people who live on the Islands do. The Falkland Islanders are resourceful, resilient people. They need […]
8th November 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Diplomatic Cooperation at the Holy See: The Case of UK – Australia
Diplomats represent their country’s interests. Traditionally, this leads to barely veiled competition between embassies accredited to third governments: for access, for influence, for commercial contracts. We will occasionally pull together for a common cause – EU embassies often do so as a matter of course – but generally as ‘coalitions of the willing’ rather than […]
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8th November 2013 Kingston, Jamaica
A Tale of Two Conferences
The best, and worst, part of my job is that I have to go to many conferences and seminars. When they are done well they are stimulating, generate solutions and you come away having met great people and with an inspired outlook. When they are done badly, I know many of you have experienced those […]
8th November 2013 Budapest, Hungary
Open Government Partnership Summit in London
Guest blog by Levente Nyitrai, Senior Policy Officer. Some of you might have heard already that London hosted the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Summit 31 October and 1 November. OGP, of which the UK is a founding member, is an international platform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open and accountable. Close to […]
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8th November 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton comes to Australia
The Queen’s Baton has just come through Australia. It is currently travelling around some 70 nations and territories which will be competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow starting in July 2014. There are 53 countries in the Commonwealth comprising one third of the world’s population: The Gambia regrettably resigned last month, hopefully temporarily. But at the Games, territories […]
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7th November 2013 Washington DC, USA
Following Suit: TTIP and the Fashion Industry
Last month, Ambassador and Lady Westmacott hosted a reception to celebrate the Bloomingdales GREAT British Invasion Campaign. The Campaign is a line of menswear designed to honour the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, as well as a ‘Best of Britain’ menswear line featuring 40 high-end and traditional British designers […]
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7th November 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Saving Syria’s children
The UK is working hard on three priorities for Syria: ensure that the world does all it can to alleviate the humanitarian suffering; support efforts to find a political solution that brings the conflict to an end; and prevent Assad from using chemical weapons against his own people. The UK has committed £500 million to […]
7th November 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A Royal Return Visit
One of the highlights of my time so far in Stockholm was the visit by The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall in March 2012. Just over 18 months later, The Crown Princess and Prince Daniel are visiting London this week. The themes for the visits are very similar: young people, technology, climate change, […]
6th November 2013 Brasilia, Brazil
International Exchange: what is it good for?
A question that usually comes up when we talk about international exchange is: what is it good for? Exchange is, above all, about sharing. Different points of view, ideas, and cultures bring an important element to human knowledge: diversity. Great civilizations have their foundations in a mixture of different knowledge to produce knowledge in ancient […]
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6th November 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
G8++ African Clearing House
Today, I participated in the 2013 Africa Clearing House (ACH) meeting at the Headquarters of the African Union (AU) here in Addis. The UK co-hosted the event with the AU as part of our G8 Presidency. The ACH began in 2004 and aims to “provide a multi-lateral forum to exchange information on security assistance and […]