Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

19th April 2013 Toronto, Canada

GOV.UK wins Design of the Year 2013

GOV.UK is the new digital home of everything the UK Government does. Every government entity will eventually have its online presence at GOV.UK, giving people who need information a single place to go and get it. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (SIN’s parent departments) are already there, helping […]

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19th April 2013

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

UK and Sweden sign Defence MOU

Yesterday in London, Swedish Defence Minister Karen Enström and the UK Minister for International Security Strategy, Dr Andrew Murrison signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UK and Sweden for Military Exercises and Training. The main purpose of the MOU is to define the legal status of military personnel of one country when invited […]

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19th April 2013 Chevening, UK

The conflict chain is beginning to break: It is time for a stable Somalia

The upcoming conference in London, to be co-hosted by David Cameron and the Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on May 7th, marks a new beginning in terms of Somalia’s relationship with the international world.  This and the G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting last week, where Somalia was a key issue on the agenda, as well as […]

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19th April 2013 Yerevan, Armenia

The way to come to CHANGES

  Our colleagues from the British Embassy posts in Yerevan and Ankara paid visit to both countries to meet with civil society organisations, journalists and junior decision makers in Turkey and Armenia to exchange ideas and explore opportunities for future project cooperation between two countries. Following to the visits Serra Cetin Head of Projects Team […]

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19th April 2013

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

A memory of Lady Thatcher

As I prepared for an interview on ExpressenTV on the night of Lady Thatcher’s funeral, I read through the entries in the Embassy’s condolence book. Many Ambassadors, representing countries from across the world had come to the Embassy to pay their tributes, as had members of the British community and Swedish citizens. What struck me […]

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19th April 2013 New Delhi, India

A look to the future

“For tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today”. Undoubtedly, no one knows the future. Yet the above quote from Malcom X neatly encapsulates why strategic thinkers across the globe need to anticipate the future. Policy makers, businessman, militaries. All try to contemplate future scenarios in order to stay ahead of their global […]

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18th April 2013

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Message from the new Consul

A guest blog by Timothy Fisher, HM Consul at the British Consulate General in İstanbul, Turkey. With 2.5m British visitors and 40,000 British residents in Turkey, Consular work (helping British nationals in need overseas) is a key part of our work in Turkey.  Therefore I was delighted to start work as Consul and Director of […]

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18th April 2013

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

How to get a British Visa

Summer is coming. The number of people wanting to travel is rising. That’s great, particularly for those of you travelling to the United Kingdom – we’re looking forward to seeing you. The fact that there are lots of people travelling means that here in Istanbul we are processing more visas. To help ensure we provide […]

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17th April 2013

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by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Helping prevent sexual violence

G8 Foreign Ministers came together in London last week to discuss conflict resolution and the prevention of sexual violence. With the current turmoil on its south eastern border, Turkey needs no reminding of the suffering conflict can cause. William Hague has described Syria as potentially the “worst humanitarian catastrophe” of the 21st century. Last weekend’s […]

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17th April 2013

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by Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Human Rights and Democracy Report 2012

This year it will be 65 years since the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Open any newspaper or news website today and you find depressingly many and varied examples of continuing breaches of those universal rights in countries around the world. Advancing respect for universal human rights is a priority […]

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