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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
7th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The return of Boris to Bollyland: 48 hours of business
Many people in London, and other parts of the UK, think they know a good deal about the Mayor of the capital, Boris Johnson: judging from the number of British tourists who greeted him in hotels or on the streets of Mumbai he must also be one of our most widely recognised politicians. Less well […]
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7th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Defence engagements
Yesterday I went to hear the Chief of Army, Lieut. Gen. David Morrison, launch a book by one of his officers, our friend Malcolm McGregor. The book “An Indian Summer of Cricket” is about a love for cricket and for the army. It also tells the story of his brave gender reassignment over the last […]
6th December 2012 Washington DC, USA
Rethinking Development
Back in the days when tweeting was what birds did, a cloud was something in the sky, an app was what you sent to the university admissions office, and Google was simply a misprint for the word which means 10100, who’d have thought that mobile phones could improve the daily lives of the world’s poorest […]
6th December 2012 Paris, France
Green energies: An important sector for our Government
I’m talking to you this morning in the middle of a big conference that we are holding in the Embassy on wind energy. We have about 200 business people, about 50/50 French and British, who are first of all learning about the opportunities in the British energy market.
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6th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Facing up to the economic chill: Britain’s response
As winter sets in here, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered what’s called the Autumn Statement to Parliament in London on 5 December. The Government’s economic strategy is focussed on reducing the deficit, restoring stability, rebalancing the economy and equipping the UK to compete in the global race. The government’s new decisions relate to three […]
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5th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Falkland Islands referendum and their right of self-determination
In June this year the Falkland Islands Government announced their intention to hold a referendum on their sovereignty in 2013. The islanders want to tell the world what their views are in a clear, democratic and incontestable way. Their government has decided a referendum is the best way to achieve this. They will be looking […]
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3rd December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Royal firsts in Rome
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were in Rome on 30 November and 1 December. They were here to celebrate the work, teaching and history of the British Pontifical Colleges. They visited the Pontifical Scots College on St Andrew’s Day, where they unveiled a plaque commemorating Henry Stuart, Cardinal York; commemorated the English Martyrs and […]
3rd December 2012 Beirut, Lebanon
A Match Made in Heaven: Can Online Dating Transform British/Lebanese Trade?
Britain and Lebanon are great traders, on the edge of our continents. The Phoenicians were masters of global trade 7000 years ago. Our moment came several millennia later, but we also built our success, in the 19th century, on the back of a readiness to pioneer, to voyage, and to do business. Diplomats cling to […]
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3rd December 2012 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Through the Language Glass
This week is English Week in Tashkent, with a series of events organised by the British Council with the Ministries of Public and Higher Education and other partners. I attended the opening of an annual conference organised by the Uzbek Teachers of English Association (UzTEA) that brought together English teachers from across Uzbekistan. They were […]
2nd December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A visit to Port Sudan
I visited Port Sudan for a few days last week. A 10 hour car journey that began several hours before dawn finally drew to an end as we weaved through the Red Sea hills into a Port Sudan decked out in bunting for the opening of the 6th Red Sea Festival for Tourism and Marketing […]