9th December 2025
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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)
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 […]
16th October 2013 London, UK
GOV.UK and the FCO – one year on
Early in 2012, we agreed the FCO would be a “trailblazer” – one of the first departments to move to the government’s new single site GOV.UK. Travel advice visited by millions each year as well as over 200 country pages in over 35 languages are now on the site. One year on from GOV.UK’s launch, […]
16th October 2013 Toronto, Canada
Blog Action Day 2013: Human Rights
16 October is Blog Action Day, during which thousands of bloggers from all over the world write on a common theme. The theme for 2013 is Human Rights – the fundamental freedoms that all people are entitled to simply by virtue of being human; largely enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights […]
16th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human Rights and Doing Business
Human rights is the theme of this year’s Blog Action Day, which falls today. So in this blog, I’d like to focus on the link between human rights, development and doing business. Recently, our Foreign Secretary William Hague talked about ‘Good Business: Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.’ He outlined our […]
16th October 2013 Windhoek, Namibia
Taking a Stand: British support for Human Rights activities in Namibia
16 October marks international Blog Action Day which has a “Human Rights” theme this year. The British High Commission in Windhoek has a proud history of supporting local organisations focusing on human rights issues in Namibia. Since my own arrival here in mid 2011, I have particularly enjoyed working with the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), […]
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16th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Blog Action Day: Human Rights and the Holy See
16 October is Blog Action Day, when bloggers across the world are encouraged to post on the same theme. I participated last year. As the theme for 2013 is “Human Rights”, as a blogger and as an Ambassador to the Holy See, I can hardly fail to do so again. I recommend to anyone interested […]
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16th October 2013 Athens, Greece
Two sea-faring nations
When they appointed me ambassador, I knew almost nothing about the maritime world – whether naval or mercantile. Sure, I had grown up near one of the most important ports in England and had gone to school there. In the 19th century, the fleet of Hull was principally occupied with whaling. In the 20th century, […]