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
23rd April 2013 Ottawa, Canada
Science in Shakespeare’s time
In anticipation of William Shakespeare’s 449th birthday, our Science and Innovation team decided to pay homage to the most celebrated poet and playwright in history. Brimming with the “stuff as dreams are made on”, Shakespeare’s plays have captivated readers throughout the ages. Although his plays have had a spellbinding effect on their readers, we can’t […]
23rd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“God for Harry! England and Saint George!”
We are hosting our Queen’s Birthday Party today, for many of our valued partners. And since it is 23rd April, we are at the same time marking the day of Saint George in many parts of the world, but also the anniversary of the birth and death of a great Englishman William Shakespeare. The standard of […]
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23rd April 2013 Dublin, Ireland
Seventieth Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
19 April marked the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This was an extraordinary demonstration of heroism by a small group of Jewish resistance fighters against overwhelming odds. For nearly a month, they held out against some 2000 German soldiers with heavy weapons. Remarkably, a small group of the resistance fighters survived. The commemoration […]
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23rd April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The heart of India’s largest business – brimming with wide streets and parks
A number of the Tata Group’s top executives have said that you can’t understand their Group until you have visited Jamshedpur. I confess at first I had little idea where the place was, but after a warm invitation from Messrs Muthuraman and Nerurkar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director respectively of Tata Steel, I soon found out […]
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23rd April 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Earth Day
Yesterday, 22 April, was Earth Day – since 1970 a day of events around the world to “acknowledge the amazing planet we call home and take action to protect it”. I spoke in the morning to students at the National University of Uzbekistan about the British government’s response, domestically and internationally, to the challenges of […]
21st April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Focus on Darfur
Last week I spent a couple of days in Doha for the donors’ conference on Darfur. The conference provided an opportunity for the international community to gather with the Government of Sudan and the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) to consider how to tackle the next stages of development in Darfur. There was a lot of […]
19th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A celebration of friendship between UK and Peru
This Sunday 21st of April we celebrate The Queen’s birthday, an opportunity to celebrate the good relationship between our countries as well. I am frequently asked by children here what the difference is between Great Britain and Scotland and England and the United Kingdom. It can seem rather complicated, I know. In the United Kingdom […]
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19th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Women of Faith, Teachers of Peace
The following is a guest blog by Simona Prete, Head of Communications. “Working for the British Embassy to the Holy See, I am privileged to meet and engage with remarkable women at the Vatican and in the Catholic network. Our Ambassador Nigel Baker noted on International Women’s Day: “the vital role played by women religious […]
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
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
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 […]