17th December 2025
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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
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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23rd May 2013 New York, USA
The Old Bill… in New York
If you were strolling into Central Park at the Columbus Circle entrance last Saturday morning you might have been surprised to see a Metropolitan Police car parked under the USS Maine monument. A hundred yards further in, you might have stopped short at the sight of three-score British police officers warming up for a light […]
23rd May 2013 Washington DC, USA
A Tale of Two Summers
Two countries separated by different summers It’s that time of year again when Washington D.C. slowly but surely starts to melt. The heart of the East Coast summer time. Temperatures in the 80s, 90s and even higher. Suffocating humidity. Blazing sun. A feeling that we could be living in a swamp. The realisation that we […]
23rd May 2013 Mumbai, India
A baby, mental health and ageing – returning to SIN
With one of the first, hopefully with plenty of the second, and not too much of the third… Having spent 12 blissful months with my baby, it is time for me to resume my role as the science and innovation adviser in Mumbai. This blog is partly to introduce myself as a new author on […]
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23rd May 2013 Bangalore, India
On my mind!
According to Time to Change, a UK campaign to challenge stigma around mental health, one in four of us will be affected by a mental health problem in a given year. In this context, you perhaps shouldn’t be surprised to hear that I’ve been to two mental heath institutions in the past couple of weeks. However, […]
23rd May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Breaking into the India market – courageous decisions paying off
Some countries don’t share much of a sense of humour, but for whatever reasons that cannot be said of India and the UK. So when the British High Commissioner, James Bevan, referred to a line from “Yes Minister” in a speech he could be confident that his Indian, as well, as British audience would catch […]
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23rd May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Relections of a Twitter virgin…
I confess to having been reluctant to embrace Twitter. But I confess myself a bit of a convert. The great TV critic Clive James once said about “Dallas”, “I came to mock but I stayed to pray”. I wouldn’t go that far, but I have found my first two weeks on Twitter (@hmapauljohnston) both fun and […]
23rd May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Trade and Investment in Kyrgyzstan – Tien Shan Legend
It’s not often I see a brand of mineral water that sends a frisson down my spine. But it happens in a meeting with the Deputy Economy Minister in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, when we discuss economic prospects for the mountainous and beautiful ex-Soviet Republic. The name of the mineral water, bottled in Kyrgyzstan, […]
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23rd May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Adelaide at the Reform Club
I was familiar with Adelaide’s origins as a planned city of free settlers, but I did not know about its links with London’s famous Reform Club (the starting point for Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days”) until I attended a fascinating event there organised by the Australia Britain Society while I was back […]
22nd May 2013 Ottawa, Canada
Investing in the next generation of Entrepreneurs and Innovators
At some point or another, we have all heard the saying that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”. But nowhere is this more apparent, and perhaps even vital, than in today’s economically strenuous times. While national unemployment rates have steadily soared across North America and Europe, the recession and the subsequent shortage […]
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