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
30th April 2013 Beijing, China
Tweeting about British culture
Digital diplomacy is undoubtedly an increasingly important aspect of public diplomacy and its popularity is growing fast. It helps us understand our audience better, talk to them directly and make an impact in a more efficient and cost-effective way. Besides relevant topics about our country objectives – foreign policy, economics, trade, climate change and the […]
29th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Holy See: Point of Fruitful Encounter
As an Embassy, we very often receive visits from individuals or delegations from Britain who are coming to the Holy See, or passing through Rome, and whose work is relevant to our own global priorities. One of the pleasures of being ambassador here is the sheer variety of such encounters, reflecting the extensive waterfront that […]
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29th April 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan’s First Model G8
On Saturday, along with the Rector of Westminster International University in Tashkent (WIUT) and the Counsellor from the Russian Embassy, I was on the panel to judge the teams competing on a “Model G8” that the British Embassy’s Political and Public Diplomacy team organised in co-operation with WIUT. Sixteen students from top universities in Tashkent […]
29th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Travel in White Nile, Sennar and Gezira
One of the pleasure as well as duties of an Ambassador is to visit as much as possible of the country to which he is posted. How else can you get a sense of the size, diversity and make-up of a country? You can’t really understand a country and its people by just sitting in […]
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29th April 2013 Toronto, Canada
29 April: Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare
“The Day of Remembrance for All Victims of Chemical Warfare is an occasion to mourn those who have suffered from these inhumane arms and to renew our resolve to eradicate them from our world.” – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon On 29 April 1997, the Chemical Weapons Convention came into force. Its broad aim is to […]
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26th April 2013 London, UK
Serbia and Kosovo’s historic agreement
Dealing with the legacy of conflict is a leading theme in foreign policy. The guns may fall silent, but years can pass before progress is made on a lasting settlement. That’s why this historic agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is to be profoundly welcomed. This is not the end of the story, but it is […]
26th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Giving Hope
Yesterday I met the members of Project Harar’s Surgical Mission to Ethiopia. It was really inspiring to learn about the project’s efforts to transform the lives of many young Ethiopian people with facial disfigurements – enabling them to smile, eat and lead normal lives, often for the first time. Many will be surprised to hear […]
26th April 2013 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
A Chevening Scholar Writes…
The following is a post by Tojiniso Olimnazarova, Chevening Scholar for Tajikistan 2011-2012. In 2011, I succeeded in receiving the Chevening scholarship funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK to do my master’s degree in Education (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) at the University of Birmingham. My one year in Birmingham was an […]
26th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
35,000 silent mourners at ANZAC Day commemoration
The silence of 35,000 people gathered in pre-dawn darkness is a genuinely spine-tingling experience. Every year more and more Australians seem to want to turn out for what is both an annual commemoration of Australia’s war sacrifices and a proud expression of national identity. Before the service, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, one of Australia’s four living […]
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25th April 2013 Montreal, Canada
Science and the Food Paradox
Each April 7, the world celebrates World Health Day to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1948. When thinking about your health, I am certain that access to – healthy – food pops up immediately in your mind. Indeed, food is a major contributor to a healthy well-being, […]