22nd December 2025
Continuing to grow the global alliance for women and girls
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
17th December 2025
MAKING LIFE SAFER, FOR EVERYONE
9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
25th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What "The Wire" tells us about Turkish shipping
In the second season of the excellent US series “The Wire”, a trade unionist working on the Baltimore docks says he’s just seen a film about Rotterdam – one of the most automated container ports in the world. He calls it a horror movie. I thought of “The Wire” during the recent “Container Handling Technology […]
Read more on What "The Wire" tells us about Turkish shipping | Reply
25th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Five Principles for Europe’s Future
As you will have seen, the British Prime Minister made an important speech on the future of the EU in London on 23 January. The PM’s speech reiterates his commitment to keeping the UK in the EU, at the heart of the Single Market, but also leading EU action on energy, climate change, development, foreign […]
Read more on Five Principles for Europe’s Future | Reply (1)
25th January 2013 London, UK
Managing the Foreign Office's overseas digital presence
As organisations have increased their use of digital media in recent years they have had to find ways to manage those channels, finding the right balance between making best use of digital to communicate and engage…
Read more on Managing the Foreign Office's overseas digital presence | Reply
25th January 2013 Cape Town, South Africa
WWF secondment helping develop new policy area
Guest Blog from Suzanne Carter, Climate Change Officer Many UK staff take a secondment into another government department over the course of their careers as civil servants but is there a way to replicate this exposure (on a smaller scale) for Locally Engaged Staff? My line manger thought it was at least worth a try! […]
Read more on WWF secondment helping develop new policy area | Reply
25th January 2013 Windhoek, Namibia
British support to Namibian campaign to tackle ‘baby-dumping’
A front page story of a tragic case of “baby-dumping” – the abandonment of newborn babies often in isolated locations – marked a sad start to the new year in Namibia. Whilst reporting of such heart-breaking cases appears to be on the increase in local papers, no one can provide precise figures as neither infanticide […]
Read more on British support to Namibian campaign to tackle ‘baby-dumping’ | Reply (4)
25th January 2013 New Delhi, India
Healthy Indo-UK research relationship!
Last week was Health Week for the British Deputy High Commission in Bangalore, with four separate delegations in Bangalore, all with a health interest. First we had Anna Soubry MP, the UK Minister for Public Health. She was in India (visiting Delhi, Trivandrum, Bangalore and Chennai) to explore opportunities for increased collaboration on primary healthcare […]
Read more on Healthy Indo-UK research relationship! | Reply (1)
25th January 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Scourge of Terrorism Returns…
For one Malaysian family, 2013 has started in the worst possible way. Mr Chong Ngen Chung and many others, including from the UK, have become the latest victims in what our Prime Minister has rightly described as a ‘…generational struggle against an ideology which is an extreme distortion of the Islamic faith, and which holds […]
24th January 2013 Yerevan, Armenia
To the Haggis
On Saturday the Armenian British Business Chamber (ABBC) is holding the annual Burns Supper in Yerevan, a tradition now for many years (please see Burns Supper – there are still a few tickets available!). We are looking forward to this tremendously and are very grateful to the ABBC for its hard work in organising it […]
24th January 2013 Paris, France
The future of the EU and the UK’s relationship with it
There is a lot happening in the world, and I wanted to talk today a bit about our support to France on Mali, and then a bit about Britain and Europe. Britain has fully supported the French military operation in Mali from the start. We entirely share France’s analysis that we can not allow Mali […]
Read more on The future of the EU and the UK’s relationship with it | Reply (2)
24th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Training Diplomats to Understand Religion
Earlier this week, I was in London to attend and address the first ever course run by the Foreign Office on religion and foreign policy. The particular focus was on the issue of freedom of religion or belief, but the wider goal of the course is to help British diplomats understand better the importance of […]
Read more on Training Diplomats to Understand Religion | Reply (1)