Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

26th February 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

Great Hatred, Little Room

A guest blog by Peter Spoor, Head of Press and Projects Team at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey On a recent visit to Diyarbakir in Turkey’s south east, I was struck by how much the violence and terrorism of the past thirty years has blighted the region’s development. Business leaders I met spoke of the […]

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26th February 2013 Tripoli, Libya

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by Nicholas Hopton

Head of UK Embassy to Libya

Getting Started!

Welcome to my blog! I am hoping to share some personal reflections about this beguiling and complicated country very soon. Suffice it to say that I am preoccupied with the preparations for the Friends of Yemen meeting which takes place in London less than two weeks from now, on 7 March. Another way-marker on the […]

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26th February 2013 Bucharest, Romania

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by Raluca Bragarea

Head of Communications, Bucharest

AKCEES-ing entrepreneurship is GREAT

Entrepreneurship is one of those key words business people bring up a lot these days. And it is easy to understand why. Jobs for the ever-increasing unemployed youths, creativity, innovation, and competitive edges that can bring more dynamism to Romania’s business landscape – these are just of a few of the arguments that are put […]

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25th February 2013 Washington DC, USA

Brad Keelor

by Bradley Keelor

Senior Science and Innovation Policy Advisor

The Biggest Computer I’ve Ever Seen, and Why Sometimes 0 and 1 Just Ain’t Enough

When you work in international scientific collaboration, you sometimes take inspiration from bizarre sources. Like this 2008 Gonzales song “Working Together”: Last week, I had a UK high-performance computing group with me in DC, Pittsburgh and Chicago, and couldn’t get the song out of my head. The US Science and Innovation Network runs a lot […]

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25th February 2013

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by Martin Harris

British Ambassador to Ukraine

The Olympic Flame burns bright in Romania

I was in Poiana Brasov last week to support Team GB at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival. I spent two days on the slopes, and brought my three daughters along too to watch the figure skating – their favourite sport. For many of the young British athletes and their coaches this was their first […]

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25th February 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

Istanbul: bridges, tunnels, airports and – maybe – Olympics

Two vast bridges spans a picturesque strait. Nearby, engineers are completing a rail tunnel which, like the bridges, will link Europe and Asia. A third bridge is under construction. A road tunnel is planned, together with a brand-new airport which, with a capacity of 150 million passengers, will be the world’s largest. Welcome to Istanbul. […]

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25th February 2013 Geneva, Switzerland

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by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Showtime

Anyone who has been through a March session of the Human Rights Council knows that you never come out it of quite the same person as you go in. While the rest of the year’s meetings are important, seasoned Council goers will tell you that March is special. It’s the main event; the Saturday night […]

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25th February 2013 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Invitation to a Virtual Dinner: Can Lebanon Skip a Tech Generation?

Earlier this month I posted some futuristic thoughts on what Lebanon could be in 2020. Much more interesting than the speculation in the post was the response. The almost 300 comments so far give a good sense of current debate in Lebanon: idealism, cynicism, fatalism, frustration. Some seek to apportion blame, many to identify practical […]

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25th February 2013 New Delhi, India

PM’s visit heralds new Indo-UK research and innovation initiatives

In the words of UK Prime Minister David Cameron, the ‘sky is the limit’ for UK-India partnership and this was evident throughout his visit to India (18-20 Feb 2013). The PM’s delegation included David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, and a host of Vice Chancellors (VCs) from some of the UK’s leading […]

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