3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
14th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We welcome Pope Francis
It is the dream of every Ambassador to the Holy See to be in post for a Conclave. No one with a sense of history or occasion can possibly be disappointed by the event. There can be no election in the world that is held under conditions of such intense media scrutiny, and yet also […]
14th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Video blog by Minister for Europe in Bucharest
Minister for Europe David Lidington visited Romania recently, as I was telling you in my last post. I invited him to do a short video blog about the visit and his vision for the partnership between the UK and Romania. You can also check my Twitter account for a brief recap of the Minister’s key […]
Read more on Video blog by Minister for Europe in Bucharest | Reply (2)
14th March 2013 Toronto, Canada
Scott and the Machine
This is a guest post by Dr. Srivas Chennu of the University of Cambridge, a nueroscientist who visited Canada last year as part of a SIN project. Scott and the Machine: International collaborations in the study of disorders of consciousness It was a busy 2012 for Scott Routley. For a while last year, he shot […]
13th March 2013 Washington DC, USA
Trade Partnerships – a stimulus everyone can agree on
My Ambassador had an op-ed in op-ed in USA Today last week on the case for the EU and the US striking a free trade deal. I thought I would develop some of the economic arguments underpinning the strong case he made. Economists often propound the benefits of free trade in terms of numbers, sometimes […]
Read more on Trade Partnerships – a stimulus everyone can agree on | Reply
13th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Falkland Islands: Having Their Say
Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt tweeted on 11 March: “Today people on Falkland Islands will express their view on whether they want the islands to remain part of the UK or not. We will listen.” The answer was clear. On a 92% turnout, 99.8% voted to stay a British Overseas Territory. This was not some […]
13th March 2013 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
My Visit to Tajikistan by Baroness Vivien Stern
I have just returned to the UK from a three-day visit to Dushanbe. I first visited Tajikistan In 2010 and I visited again in 2011. So this was my third opportunity to spend some time in this beautiful country. All my visits were organised by the British Embassy. As I am a member of the […]
Read more on My Visit to Tajikistan by Baroness Vivien Stern | Reply
12th March 2013 Washington DC, USA
Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2013: Training Commences
The following is a guest blog by Col Fred Hargreaves from the British Embassy. Col Hargreaves, in his first blog, talks about the UK/US Service Personnel, Veterans and Families Taskforce and the latest venture organised by the Embassy of sending a joint UK/US team to cycle from Paris to London in the late Spring. When […]
Read more on Big Battlefield Bike Ride 2013: Training Commences | Reply
12th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Turkmenistan – business opportunities
With which overseas market did UK bilateral trade in goods increase by 200% in 2012? The answer is Turkmenistan, whose International Investment Forum I and colleagues including Ron Nash, UK co-Chair of the Turkmenistan UK Trade and Industry Council, attended in Istanbul on 5-6 March. There is huge interest in Turkmenistan’s massive natural gas reserves […]
11th March 2013 Harare, Zimbabwe
Mucking in at the Lashkar Gah cookhouse: helping the army to march on its stomach
A guest blog by Belinda Lewis, Director Rule of Law and Operations at the PRT, about her day spent helping out in the Lashkar Gah cookhouse. The other week I spent my day off wielding knives and piping icing sugar roses in the Lashkar Gah cookhouse. I love cooking so it was a real treat […]
Read more on Mucking in at the Lashkar Gah cookhouse: helping the army to march on its stomach | Reply
11th March 2013 Geneva, Switzerland
Metaphysics, Mathematics and Mayhem
Strange things happen to the passage of time at the Human Rights Council. The days go on forever, the weeks feels like months and don’t get me started on what the months feel like. I’d thought this was just the inverse of time flying when you’re having fun but to make matters more confusing time […]
Read more on Metaphysics, Mathematics and Mayhem | Reply (3)