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The Gulf, Berlin and the Commission on the Status of Women: building global alliances to advance women’s progress
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
26th February 2026
Different Memories, Shared Futures: Why Inclusive Remembrance Matters for Serbia and the Region
22nd December 2025
Continuing to grow the global alliance for women and girls
15th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Gas fields, gels and gin – mixing it with the PM’s visit
The Prime Minister’s visit to India in February set a number of firsts: the first by a British PM to Mumbai for 20 years, the first by a PM to Amritsar, and the first to India (or anywhere) to be joined by over 120 businesspeople. The size of the business group set us in Mumbai […]
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14th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British Week 2013 – we will rock you Guatemala!
The unofficial anthem of the London Olympics became our unofficial anthem for British Week 2013. As we proved that music is Great Britain by showcasing some of the best of British music via a Queen tribute band and a charity dinner with everything from Rolling Stones to Coldplay. But regular readers will know that British […]
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14th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British Week 2013 – we will rock you Guatemala!
British week 2013 – we will rock you Guatemala! The unofficial anthem of the London Olympics became our unofficial anthem for British Week 2013. As we proved that music is Great Britain by showcasing some of the best of British music via a Queen tribute band and a charity dinner with everything from Rolling Stones […]
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14th March 2013 Nairobi, Kenya
Giving voice to Somalia’s silent majority
International Women’s Day is a global opportunity to celebrate and promote the rights of women. It is a chance for all of us, men and women, to unite under a single, common aim – gender equality. This is particularly pertinent in Somalia. Everyone in Somalia has suffered from decades of often unrelenting conflict. But Somalia’s […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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