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
31st January 2013 London, UK
Facetime – the old fashioned way
Spending so much time working on social media and digital platforms, it’s easy to find yourself thinking that the only way to engage with the people is through cyberspace. So it was great to spend a couple of days last week being reminded of the benefits of face-to-face communication. The occasion was a two-day seminar […]
30th January 2013 Washington DC, USA
Pipes and Drums roll into US for the start of 2013 Tour
The following is a guest blog by Major Andrew Halliday from the Black Watch. Major Halliday is currently taking part in the Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch and the Military Band of the Scots Guards 2013 US tour. This is his first post as they roll into Philadelphia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. […]
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30th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Humanitarian crisis in Syria: How Britain is helping
Guest blog by Henry Kenrick, Political Officer at the British Embassy in Ankara, Turkey The eyes of the world are on the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Syria – right on Turkey’s doorstep. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 50,000 Syrians have died. More than 700,000 people have become refugees; and more […]
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30th January 2013 Washington DC, USA
Six Nations Rugby: How You Can Cheer Stateside
I happened to be in Dublin four years ago when Ireland’s Rugby team won the Six Nation’s Tournament, sending the country into a swirl of excitement culminating in daylong welcome home celebration on the River Liffey, as well as the first I heard of team captain Brian O’Driscoll – nicknamed The BOD – a player […]
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30th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The development of development
The British government, like Sweden, is a strong supporter of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. Our Prime Minister is honoured to be co-chairing the UN High Level Panel on the future of international development, which will make recommendations later this year on what the new international agenda should be after 2015, when the MDGs are […]
30th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Syria: Stepping up to the Plate
The flow of Syrian refugees entering Jordan has now reached crisis point. What started as a trickle over 18 months ago has now become a flood. Even a few weeks ago the UN was reporting 300 – 400 new arrivals each night. Now it is 3,000 – 4,000 most nights. These are bald figures. Like […]
30th January 2013 London, UK
Social networks are a powerful foreign policy tool | Civil Service World
Simon Fraser, Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO, on the digital revolution…
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29th January 2013 Washington DC, USA
Bringing UK-US Science & Innovation to the Blogosphere
The UK and US share one of the longest, most productive scientific relationships in the world. Together, we represent over half of the world’s journal citations and nearly 40 percent of global Research & Development funding. We are truly Partners in Science. I’ve got quite the past in the blogosphere. In 2000, I started my […]
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29th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Magnificent Murray in Melbourne
A thrilling Australia Day weekend in Melbourne at the Australian Open tennis finals. We watched Andy Murray beat Federer in an epic semi-final. Then on Sunday we held our breath while he put up a magnificent battle against Djokovic in the final. In terms of skill the two players were evenly matched and, since his […]
28th January 2013 London, UK
Challenging human rights abuses through technology
Challenging human rights abuses through technology – my blog on Google Earth and North Korea prison camps: Thanks to Google Earth, North Korea’s labour camps can now be seen from outer space. Human Rights Watch estimates that these remote mountain camps hold up to 200,000 people who are considered… Read more…
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