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
6th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Coffee is my drug of choice – looks like the OAS agree
I have just got back from the UK and have seen coffee everywhere. I am not saying that the Brits have stopped loving tea, but coffee shops seem to be everywhere in the UK. One of them is promoting Guatemalan coffee from the town of Antigua. On my return to Guatemala, it is the town […]
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6th June 2013 Paris, France
The 3 lines of our cooperation with France on Syria
The subject we’ve been working very closing with the French on in the last few weeks has been Syria, which has of course been very prominent in the media. And it’s a terrible human disaster: apart from its dangerous regional implications, we believe that 80,000 people may have been killed over the last two years. […]
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6th June 2013 London, UK
Digital is not just something the communications team does
If you have ever tried flying against a flock of 340 million birds you will understand why social media is such a force. That might seem like an extreme analogy, but that number represents how many tweets Twitter users produce each day. It is a mind boggling figure. As those of us working in digital […]
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6th June 2013 New Delhi, India
Together for health: UK and India pen MoU on health cooperation
Health and disease was one of the major areas identified for collaboration between the UK and India at the Indo-UK Science & Innovation Council last year, and it’s been a regular topic on this blog ever since. Here’s Himangi Bhardwaj, our Health Adviser in New Delhi, bringing the latest news on Indo-UK Health… 19th May […]
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5th June 2013 Kingston, Jamaica
Is anyone listening?
Listening is not one of the first things that comes to mind when we think of social media, most of us view it as a tool to connect with people we know, or to meet new people. The concept of listening via social media has evolved over time. When used correctly information can be garnered in […]
5th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Golden Thread
You might assume from the title that this is going to be about mathematical theory or science fiction or indeed sewing. But the “golden thread” in question is our Prime Minister’s description of the link between peace, good governance and open societies and economies as part of new thinking on poverty reduction through wealth creation. […]
4th June 2013 Ottawa, Canada
Cecil Spring-Rice: Singing the Unsung Hero
Most of us go through life trying to make a difference for the better, whether in a small way, or in a way that has a bigger, more lasting impact on the world around us. Very few people truly succeed in doing so. And of those that do, very few perhaps get the recognition they deserve…
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4th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Post 2015 MDGs: Our Time Starts Now!
Last Friday 31 May was a momentous date. For on that date, in New York, the 27-strong High Level Panel appointed by the UN Secretary General – and co-chaired by the British Prime Minister, David Cameron; Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; and Indonesian President Dr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono presented its final report on the post-2015 […]
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4th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Poor and the Powerful: A New Global Partnership
Can we be the generation to eliminate extreme poverty from the earth? This is the challenge set by the Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, co-chaired at the request of the UN Secretary General by the Presidents of Liberia and Indonesia, and the Prime Minister of the United […]
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4th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A Step Towards A Safer World
A step towards a safer world was taken in New York on 3 June when the UK, Sweden and 65 other states signed the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). I worked on the ATT during my time heading the political and security team at the UK delegation in New York between 2005 and 2008. I confess […]