Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

29th July 2013

by Peter Tibber

Ambassador to Colombia

Ramadan

Traditionally the embassy hosts a large Iftar for our Sudanese friends and partners. This year we are doing things a little differently. I am hosting half a dozen smaller Iftars to which we have invited 20 or 30 guests only. I am enjoying these Iftars greatly. They are special events. It is clear that for […]

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28th July 2013 Sana’a, Yemen

Jane Marriott, British Ambassador to Yemen

by Jane Marriott

British Ambassador to Yemen

Yemen – First Impressions

Some initial impressions from my first week and a half in Sanaa: 1. Yemen is a great country with huge potential to take control of the future of over 24 million people. The challenges, though, are immense. 2. The National Dialogue and transition process are progressing: the major questions, around the future structure of Yemen, […]

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26th July 2013 New York, USA

by Nick Astbury

Deputy Consul-General and Deputy Head of Mission, New York

The lasting Olympic impression

Exactly a year ago tomorrow, I sat down with my twelve-year-old son in the Olympic Stadium to watch the Opening Ceremony. Extra tickets had become available about a month or so beforehand – they weren’t cheap, but as a Londoner the chance to be there was too good to miss. We’d got there early, long […]

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26th July 2013

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Inspired by London 2012

Can it really be one year since the London Olympics!? To tell us how we are celebrating the anniversary, we have a guest blog from our very own Sigrid Pineda. Over to you Sigrid. When I started to think about this blog, I thought what inspires us?  What is it that makes us want to […]

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26th July 2013

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Inspirados por Londres 2012

Puede ser que ya pasó un año desde los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres?!  Para contarles cómo vamos a celebrar el aniversario, tenemos una invitada a nuestro blog, nuestra propia Sigrid Pineda.  A ti Sigrid: Cuando comencé a imaginar sobre este blog, pensé qué es lo que nos inspira?  Qué es lo que nos hace ser […]

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26th July 2013 New Delhi, India

Are you ready for the Rolls-Royce India Open Innovation Challenge?

Chesbrough, who coined the term “Open Innovation” describes in his book “Open Innovation: the New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology” how companies have shifted from so-called closed innovation processes towards a more open way of innovating. Open Innovation can be described as combining internal and external ideas as well as internal and external […]

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26th July 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Man U and Liverpool bring the “great game” to Australia

Getting to watch Man U and Liverpool matches in the same week would be a treat even in England. Here in Australia it was a joy. And a GREAT chance to use sport to promote Britain a year on from the London Olympics. Football, or soccer as they call it here, is the weakest of […]

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26th July 2013 Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Talking Climate Change is Fun and Relevant for All of Us

The following is a post by Joanne Manda, Climate Change and Environment Adviser, DFID Bangladesh. Talking climate change may initially seem daunting (too technical), boring (all that climate science puts me to sleep) or just plain weird (something just for those whose greatest ambition is to hug a tree or save a polar bear!). But I […]

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