Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

28th August 2013 USA

by James Kariuki

Counsellor and Head of Politics, Economics and Communication Group

Dr King’s British Legacy

Today I will have the honour of representing the UK government on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s historic “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. I’ve represented my country at many big events in my 20-year diplomatic career, from G8 and UN Summits to the State of the Union […]

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28th August 2013 Vancouver, Canada

Rupert Potter

by Rupert Potter

British Consul General, Vancouver

To Write or Not to Write

Never write about Shakespeare. It’s like inviting friends to watch you skate when the Sedins are on the ice. In fact, given the very existence of Hamlet and King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night – to write or not to write, at all, about anything, should be the question. . .

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28th August 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

A week in an Aboriginal community

Indigenous Australians have been on this continent for around 40,000 years. So it was a great privilege to spend 5 days in the Aboriginal community of Hopevale, in Cape York in the far north of Queensland. My principal impression was the warmth of the people I met. Each evening a different family invited me to […]

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27th August 2013 Ottawa, Canada

by Mark Agnew

Trade and Economic Advisor

Reading the (trade) tea leaves

I will admit trade policy isn’t always edge-of-your-seat material, but lately it has been getting its fair share of press. From a new Director-General at the World Trade Organisation, to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, and the start of bilateral trade talks between the EU and US, there are a lot of potential game changers for global trade on the horizon. . .

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27th August 2013 Windhoek, Namibia

Marianne Young

by Marianne Young

High Commissioner, Windhoek

Visiting drought stricken areas in northern Namibia

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba declared a national emergency on 17 May in response to the country’s failed rains and worsening drought situation. An estimated 330,000 people have now been classified as food insecure – 14 % of Namibia’s total population of 2.3m, with an additional 447,577 classified as moderately food insecure. The drought hit especially […]

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27th August 2013 Bangalore, India

Sunil Kumar M

by Sunil Kumar

Senior Science & Innovation Adviser

Water chemistry bonds researchers

Moreshwar Hude from the Royal Society of Chemistry writes about a two-day workshop  titled “Indo UK Water quality perspective: Threats, Technologies and Options” on 13-14 August 2013, which was jointly organized by the UK Science and Innovation Network, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)  Bangalore. Water is unique and […]

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27th August 2013

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Inspiring the Inspirational

Today people around the world are honouring the memory of Raoul Wallenberg. I’ve been reading Alex Kershaw’s book “To Save a People”. It is in equal parts heartbreaking in its accounts of individual cruelty and suffering and inspirational in its description of the idealism and bravery that Wallenberg and his colleagues displayed. I was intrigued […]

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