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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
29th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Syria: Arms and aims
Britain and Sweden don’t differ on much. We did this week on whether to lift the EU arms embargo on the legitimate opposition in Syria. We argued for the lift for political, security and humanitarian reasons. Our priority is a political transition that ends the conflict, allows refugees to return home, and prevents further radicalisation in […]
29th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Waffling at The WEF
Over the last few weeks I have heard lots of people talk about “The WEF”, as if there was a mysterious secret society that only a privileged few belonged to. Maybe you had to speak a coded language of “Weffery” to be in with the in-crowd. What were my impressions? The event was huge: over […]
28th May 2013 Washington DC, USA
What a Great Couple of Weeks!
What a couple of weeks this has been! The visit of Prince Harry to the United States was well covered in the media, and his attendance at the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs certainly put that event on the map in both the UK and US. He really connected with the British Team, giving them […]
28th May 2013 USA
Can You Hear Me, Major Tim?
The following is a guest post by Ryan Nalty, Business Development Associate, Advanced Engineering, UKTI. The great British comedian, Eddie Izzard, once quipped, that British efforts in space would be equivalent to putting a man in a track suit up a ladder. Last week, that track suit became more expensive and that ladder, a tad […]
27th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Well-being, the Common Good and the Holy See
What are governments for? At its most fundamental, the role of government is to keep people and communities safe. Right until the modern era, provision of security was seen as the prime function of government. It still is an essential priority, and it is no coincidence that assuring national security remains one of the over-riding […]
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27th May 2013 Vientiane, Laos
Laos through my eyes – Andrew Bartlett
This article is part of a series of guest blogs contributed by Brits who have lived and worked in Laos, or who have other interesting links to Laos. My first visit to Laos was in 1983 when I was part of a young professional scheme funded by the British Aid programme. I had been attached to a regional UN […]
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27th May 2013 Geneva, Switzerland
June too soon
There was a time not so long ago when the Geneva sun shone happily throughout spring time, when kinder colleagues used to mistake me for an intern and the June Human Rights Council session actually began in June. This year we’ve still not managed to put our winter clothes away, a worrying number of colleagues […]
24th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Memory of War
I took part in the Victory Day ceremony in Minsk on 9 May to honour the veterans and fallen of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45. The term “Great Patriotic War” sounds strange to us Britons, but we weren’t invaded. Our memory is of the longer period we know as the Second World War (WWII) […]
24th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australian business opportunities: 10,000 miles and one click away
Australia is a very long way from Britain – 23 hours flying time. That can sometimes put small businesses off exploring the big opportunities in this important market. But many companies are exporting very successfully to Australia without leaving home, thanks to booming e-commerce sales. 15.7 million Australians are active online and Australia’s online retail […]
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23rd May 2013 Paris, France
The Prime Minister’s first visit to the Elysée
We’ve just had David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, in Paris for his first visit here to President Hollande since his election. They travelled down together from the European Council in the same train, and they were able to have a bilateral meeting as they were travelling.
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