10th April 2025
The Long Haul
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th April 2025
The UK and Serbia: saving lives together
24th January 2025
International Day of Education: creating hope in the climate crisis
3rd May 2019 Hanoi
Freedom of expression and press freedom – striking the balance between freedom and regulation
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated across the globe on 3 May. We, as Ambassadors of Canada and the UK, believe that free and independent media play a vital role in social and economic prosperity, the protection of human rights and in holding the powerful to account. That is why our two countries have recently […]
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30th April 2019 Khartoum, Sudan
Freedom, Peace and Justice. Revolution is the Choice of the People
I marked my one year anniversary as the British Ambassador to Sudan this week. When I started this job, I could not have imagined finding myself in the situation we are in now. Sudan had experienced 30 years of authoritarian rule. These were 30 years of conflict and secession, of repression and extremism, of sanctions […]
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29th April 2019 Geneva, Switzerland
Disarmament blog: preparing for the NPT Review Conference
The third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opens today at UN Headquarters in New York. (Otherwise known as the NPT RevCon PrepCom; while we work tirelessly against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, we’re quite happy to proliferate jargon.) Over the next […]
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29th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
Vienna Girlsday: lessons in Styrian dialect and a visit to Burgenland
Last week, for the second year running, the British Embassy Vienna took part in the “Vienna Girlsday”. I certainly learned a lot. The aim of the “Girlsday” (in German it is called “Töchtertag” or “daughters’ day”) is to introduce young women to areas of work where women are under-represented. In the UK in 2019 we […]
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18th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
Are British gardens the best? Visit Britain and decide for yourself!
I was delighted last month to attend the annual spring opening of Praskac Pflanzenland, one of Austrian’s largest gardening suppliers. Praskac rather brilliantly have this year chosen the theme of “English Gardens”. Based close to Tulln in Lower Austria, Praskac was founded in 1875. The company is one of Austria’s largest distributors of English roses; […]
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17th April 2019 London, UK
The Commonwealth: towards a common future
This time last year, 46 Heads of Government and 49 Foreign Ministers gathered in London for the 25th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Formally opened on 19 April by HM The Queen, this was the largest summit of its kind our country has ever hosted. Ahead of the formal conference, a whole series of discussion […]
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16th April 2019 Beijing
Working with China to produce an apple of lasting legacy
China is the world’s largest apple producer, harvesting 31 million tons in 2018 which accounted for 50% of the global production. Yet the industry suffered a 25% drop from the previous year due to bad weather. The Newton funded RED APPLE project kicked off in Beijing in the changeable spring weather of late March. This […]
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11th April 2019 Vienna, Austria
The Hare with Amber Eyes – live in Linz
A family is torn apart by war and discrimination. Many family members are murdered. Years later, a descendant of one of the survivors tries to find out what happened. This might not sound a promising premise for a musical. But at the Landestheater Linz on 6 April, the world premiere of the musical “The Hare […]
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4th April 2019 Morocco, Rabat
Thoughts in the Rain
The rain was falling as I left the house. I had the forethought to put both waterproof jacket and umbrella in the car. And I was very glad I did. / By the time we got to Tour Hassan Mosque, it was tipping down. Puddles were forming on the floor as the masses poured through […]
4th April 2019 Stockholm, Sweden
NATO at 70: The Alliance stands with Ukraine
Today marks the 70th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The Alliance was founded in the aftermath of the Second World War by a group of European and North American countries, united by their desire to create a lasting peace in Europe. Much has changed in the world since 1949. Security threats are more diverse […]
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