17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
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
21st October 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Laos through my eyes – Jo Smith
This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos. Ock Pop Tok means ‘East meets West’ in Lao. I co-founded Ock Pop Tok 13 years ago together with Luang Prabang born Veomanee Douangdala. At the time I was […]
21st October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Reserve Bank of Australia Governor praises UK contribution to Australian economy
The success of the modern Australian economy reflects in part the legal and governance structures flowing from its British heritage, RBA Governor Glenn Stevens told the Australian British Chamber of Commerce at a packed Sydney lunch last week. In a fascinating speech the Governor outlined the history of the economic relationship between the two countries. He noted […]
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18th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The future of cyberspace
This week sees the 2013 Seoul Conference on Cyberspace, the third in a series of conferences following London 2011 and Budapest 2012. The Conference takes place in the context of a debate in Brazil and abroad about the future of the internet. Our Foreign Secretary has long been passionate about cyber (a broad term that […]
18th October 2013 Budapest, Hungary
Did you know…?
Guest blog by Levente Nyitrai, Senior Policy Officer Did you know that 18 October 2013 is the 7th EU Anti-trafficking Day? Did you know that the UK is a signatory to, and has adopted, the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention against […]
18th October 2013 Washington DC, USA
Somali Piracy: Now you see it, now you don’t
Tom Hanks and I fell out back in the early 1990’s. I’m not sure if he noticed. The problem was, first, that he won the Oscar for Philadelphia when I wanted Daniel Day-Lewis to get it for In the Name of the Father. Then, to rub salt in my movie-nerd wounds, the awful Forrest Gump […]
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18th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Stress
They could have gone better. Despite taking exams for many years, I still managed to get irritated with myself. I forgot a word that I had learnt only a week or so before. I had let the stress of doing my Russian language exam get to me. I should have known better. Just before my […]
18th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
To regulate or not to regulate, that is the question …
Guest blog by the Embassy’s Economic Attaché. One thing we hear a lot about these days is regulation. Regulation this, regulation that, it can be good or bad, national or international, too much or not enough. Views may depend on where you stand: employer or employee, big multinational or local SME, left or right or […]
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17th October 2013 Ottawa, Canada
My Experience at the UKTI Global Graduate Entrepreneurs’ Festival
The following blog is by our guest blogger, Lorne Grant who recently won 1st place at the UKTI Global Graduate Entrepreneurs’ Festival . Lorne is the owner of the shipping service company, Latharn Ltd. My Experience at the UKTI Global Graduate Entrepreneurs’ Festival in Manchester, UK By Lorne Grant On September 4th, I left Fort […]
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17th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How Europe can COMPETE
I was in Cluj again last week. It’s one of my favourite cities – a university town, full of ideas, traditions and rich in history. One way or another, Cluj has always found its way to the forefront of innovation and industry in each of the eight centuries since its first mention in the historical […]
16th October 2013 Brasilia, Brazil
#Time to Act
Today is Blog Action Day, an annual worldwide event where bloggers write about a single topic since 2007. Earlier this year over 800 Blog Action Day participants took part in a poll to help identify what the theme should be for 2013. The most popular votes and suggestions all fell under the banner of human rights, making […]