Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

12th June 2013

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Project visit "boys and girls in action"

Thanks to the support of British Embassy; the Violence Prevention Programme of USAID and Guatemalan businessmen, the Foundation Elecciones Infantiles, with the endorsement of the Department of Education, for the consecutive second year we continue executing the Programme Girls and Boys in Action. The Programme looks for the formation and enforcement of human and democratic […]

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12th June 2013

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by Sarah Dickson

Ambassador to Guatemala (June 2012 - June 2015)

Visita a Proyecto “Niñas y Niños en Acción”

Gracias al apoyo de Embajada Británica; Programa Prevención de la Violencia de USAID y empresarios guatemaltecos, la Fundación Elecciones Infantiles, con el aval del Ministerio de Educación, se encuentra ejecutando por segundo año consecutivo a nivel nacional el Programa Niñas y Niños en Acción. El Programa busca la formación y puesta en práctica de valores […]

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12th June 2013 London, UK

Digital Diplomacy at the Foreign Office leadership conference

Every year UK Ambassadors return to London to look at how the Foreign Office can most effectively deliver UK priorities overseas. A key focus of those meetings is “diplomatic excellence”, working to ensure the UK has the most effective diplomatic service in the world. This year the use of digital tools to enhance UK diplomacy […]

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12th June 2013

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by Peter Millett

Ambassador to Libya, Tripoli

Make Poverty History

Could you survive on $1.25 per day? I certainly couldn’t. But over 1 billion people round the world have to do so. These are the extreme poor. Poverty not only means that people lack food and shelter. It also means that they struggle to escape poverty because they also lack good education and healthcare. And it means that […]

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12th June 2013

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by Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Honorary Consuls gather in Brisbane

Honorary Consuls from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa gathered in Brisbane for their annual conference and briefing on latest developments in our consular policy. I gave them an update on the current state of bilateral relations. These are local residents in cities where we do not have a consular office, who volunteer to help support […]

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11th June 2013 New York, USA

Charles Arrowsmith

by Charles Arrowsmith

Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Consul-General

Raising the Curtain on Brits On and Off Broadway

There’s a long and glittering history of traffic between the West End and Broadway. In a recent lavish exchange of gifts, London finally got The Book of Mormon and New York was introduced to the delights of Matilda the Musical, which promptly snaffled five Tony Awards from 13 nominations. One of Matilda’swinners on Sunday night was British playwright Dennis Kelly, who […]

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11th June 2013 Havana, Cuba

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by Tim Cole

Former British Ambassador to Cuba

7 days with swing!

Last week in Havana we saw a fantastic celebration of British culture. Once a year, as in many other countries in the world, the Embassy organises a BritWeek when we put on a variety of events. In Havana our cinema programme included the Cuban-British film, The Day of the Flowers. Obra Blue/Orange, put on by British director […]

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11th June 2013 Paris, France

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by Peter Ricketts

Ambassador to France from February 2012 to January 2016.

My regional visit to Lyon

Sir Peter Ricketts visited Interpol on 3 June 2013

I recently spent two days in Lyon, where there is a whole range of areas where Britain and France are working together. First of all, I went to Interpol, which is a century-old cooperation between police forces, where we have senior members of staff working on secondment from the British police to ensure the best […]

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11th June 2013 British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica

by Syranno Baines

Digital and Communications Officer

David Fitton CMG Is The New British High Commissioner to Jamaica

Mr David Fitton CMG has been appointed British High Commissioner to Jamaica in succession to Mr Howard Drake, who was transferred to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Mr Fitton will take up his appointment during June 2013. Mr Fitton joined the FCO in 1980 and was , until recently , Deputy Head of mission at the […]

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11th June 2013 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

Anniversaries: why history matters.

It has been another really busy but rewarding week for me. The highlights included reminders of history, a visit to Poznan and further evidence of the potential to increase trade and investment with Poland. The Fourth of June was both the anniversary of the historic 1989 elections in Poland when Solidarity won a remarkable victory […]

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